The Kyuubi's Gift: Second Coming
by Blood Seraph
Summary: When Konoha is destroyed, and his friends slaughtered, the Kyuubi decides to help Naruto, and offers him a ticket to change the course of time. These are the consequences of Naruto's choices... Rewrite. NaruSaku. AU
1. Second Coming

_**The Kyuubi's Gift: Second Coming**_

_** Well, well, well, it seems a bout of inspiration hit me, and I was able to finish the first chapter of Second Coming pretty quickly, in fact, I hope you all like this chapter, and a few of the unanswered questions in this chapter will be answered in the next chapter! And those that aren't will be answered in a side-fic that I will be typing up that will tell about the things that go unanswered in this fic, and just general information that I don't go into depth about. Besides that, I don't have much to say, besides that I hope that those of you who decided to give the remake a try enjoy this version just as much, if not more then the original! **_

_**Chapter I **_

_**Second Coming**_

"Cocky, aren't we boy," Orochimaru's voice slithers out of Sasuke's mouth, and it sickens me.

_Idiot, completely forgot that Orochimaru was still in that numbskull of his, and when we killed Itachi, he let his guard down, and he called me a baka, _I think to myself, a little dark humor seeping into my thoughts.

"Cocky, aren't we Orochi-teme," I bait back, my kunai matching his Kusanagi.

"Well of course, boy, I have the Sharingan," He replies, a smug smirk on his face, making me want to rip it off.

"Shouldn't be, not that big of an advantage, not if you know what to do," I say, still not looking at his eyes, my training from Gai really paying off.

"We'll see, when I rip you to shreds," He calls, and I chuckle darkly, blocking Kusanagi again, and jumping back before pulling out a scroll and summoning a long katana.

"Wow, a big bad katana, I'm so afraid," Orochimaru mocks, and I just smirk again.

"Don't underestimate me, Orochimaru, you never know," I say, charging him as he matches my blow, and my smirk widens as I start to push him back.

"You may know more techniques then I do, Orochimaru, but you're not as strong as I am," I mock, breaking the lock, and slide the blade along his chest, making Orochimaru stumble backwards, holding his hand to his chest, and making him hiss.

"This is it!" I yell, charging him, and using shape manipulation, I form the Rasengan (_Spiraling Sphere_) around the blade, similar to what Sasuke used to do with the Chidori (_One-Thousand Birds_), and duck under Orochimaru's pathetic attempt to stop me, ramming the blade into his throat, a light spray of blood covering my face as he drops Kusanagi, and grabs at his throat. Sliding the blade out of his throat, I wipe the blood off my face as Orochimaru falls down to the ground, and I hear Sasuke's dying breath.

"Thank you…"

Throwing the blade to the ground, I look around the battlefield, which once was Konoha (_Leaf_). All I saw was fire and death, and a lone tear escapes my eye. Moving away from the field, I come to a lone, untouched hill, with fifteen tombstones.

"Well, Kakashi, Kurenai, Jiraiya, Tsunade Gai, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Hinata, Shino, and Sai, I did it, I finally killed Orochimaru, and ended the war, even though we lost," I say to no one in particular, and I sigh, before walking over a memorial.

"Well, I finally kept my promise, Sakura, I saved Sasuke, just like you wanted, and I hope you two are happy up there, I'll be following soon," I say, and flinch as the wound in my stomach, reopens from the choppy job I did on it. "I never was as good at chakra control as you," I say, a pained smile on my face, as I fall to my knees, grunting in pain.

**Kit, come here, **The Kyuubi says to me, as I try and crawl over to him, inside myself.

_Hey Kyuubi, how are you doing? _I ask with some humor, a smile reach my face.

**I'm sorry to say, but for the Rokudaime, you look pretty pathetic right now, **He says, and I can't help but chuckle.

_Well, you're right about that, Kyu-kun, _I agree, and I hear Kyuubi chuckle.

**I like you kit, I think of you as my own, and that's why now, I offer you a chance to turn back the dial, and fix this, mess, **He says, emphasizing on mess, and my head shots up to stare at him.

_I thought we already talked about time travel, it is supposed to impossible, _I say, for some reason finding the idea ridiculous.

**Well, I've been thinking, as I have nothing better to do, and I think I've come up with a solution, but you must choose now, you have no time left.**

_Yes! Yes! If it's possible, then yes! _I say urgently, and see hand seals start to flash through my mind, and I get the picture as I start to use _all_of my as Kyuubi quickly feeds his own into me as well. At the end of the hundred chain seal, I feel dizzy, and all of a sudden, I'm in something of a black hole.

**This, Kit, is the time-continuum, here you may choose where to go, and a few other things, **He explains, and I get curious.

_Other things? _

**Yes, you have the option of giving three people; only three, their memories, but you must give them their memory, and no more then three.**

_Well, you of course, and then Ojii-sama (_Grandfather_), and…_

**I'd suggest going with Shikamaru, he is very bright, and will definitely be able to help you, also, you won't have to give me my memories, as I should have them as soon as I'm out, but you'll have to develop a technique to transfer the memories to the other two, and you'll have all of their memories until then, **He explains, and I memorize all of it.

_That it?_

**Yes, all you need to do now is choose what time.**

_That's easy…_

And a moment later, I was in the Fourth's arms.

"Isn't he a beautiful boy, Minato?" I hear a weak voice call, and crane my neck, as I am now a baby, and look to see one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. Long, red hair, and a face kinder then that of Ojii-sama's, she seemed tired, and weak. Giving into the urge, I try to reach out and grab her, and she smiles softly, and I feel a tear splash on my cheek.

"Look, Kushina, he recognizes his mom," I hear the Fourth says, and look up to see him crying, and grinning sadly.

"Go, Minato, you don't have a lot of time," She says, and the Fourth bends over and kisses her, tears traveling down his face as she reaches up and caresses his face, before her hand falls limp at her side, and a soft sob escapes his throat as he pulls back, and jumps out the window.

"Goodbye, Kushina," He whispers to himself, and then it all clicks in my head. Kushina was my mother, and the Fourth, Minato, was my father, if only for a few more minutes, and I let out a soft gurgle in my current body.

"Hey buddy, it's sad you won't remember any of this, but I'm glad you got to see your mother, and your father, before we both die," He says, wiping away his own tears and grinning down at me.

I feel completely useless as he continues on his trek towards death. But I couldn't stop him, and even if I could, I wouldn't. This is what is supposed to happen, and I can't change that, but I can make the future my father sacrificed himself for come to fruition, if not only for his sake.

"You know, you've got to be one of the quietest babies I've ever had the chance of meeting, it's like you know what's going on around you," He says, and I look up to see him looking at me in contemplation.

"That often means, Minato, that he will grow up to be very smart," I hear Ojii-sama, and I gurgle happily as Minato grins at him.

"Hey Sarutobi, how are you doing?" He asks jovially, and I hear Ojii-sama sigh.

"Good, besides the fact that I'll have to take up the position of Hokage (_Fire Shadow_) again, when you die," He says, and Minato chuckles.

"Well, that's the price you have to pay for saving Konoha, we all have to at one point," He says, and I see Sarutobi nod.

"Sadly, your words ring true, I'll miss you, friend," He says as he stops when we reach a clearing, and Minato starts to flip through seals for a Kuchiyose (_Summoning_).

"As I'll miss you Sarutobi, farewell," He says as we appear on Gamabunta, and we jump off towards the Kyuubi.

Seeing the giant fur ball, I can't help but giggle a little.

"Hm, that's the Kyuubi, Naruto, and I'm sorry for doing this," He says as he starts to flip through different hand seals.

_You shouldn't be sorry, it's not your fault, and its not Kyuubi's either. Anyway, I enjoy the fur ball's company, fun to tease, _I think to myself, and giggle again.

Not feeling up to watching my father sacrifice himself, I enter the recesses of my mind, and surprisingly enough, I have the body of twenty-one year-old me, and replicas of the Fourth's clothes. Hey, I might not have know he was my father, but I liked the way he dressed, even though everybody said I looked like him, I never figured it out, shows how stupid I am!

Leaning back, I create a mat on the ground as I watch the bars appear, followed by the piece of paper, and then the Kyuubi.

_Hey Fur-ball,_ I greet him as he shakes his disoriented head.

**Hey Kit, **He responds, and I grin.

_Good, you do remember! I thought maybe I'd have to make a technique for you too!_

**That's right, I didn't explain that too well, but just to give the short and sweet version, I'm in your body, where you were playing host to my future spirit, which then melded with me when I entered your body, you'll need to make a technique to transfer Sarutobi's, and Shikamaru's future spirits into them, **He explains, and I quirk an eyebrow.

_That was short and sweet?_

**Yes, that was short and sweet, but know I think you should take a look outside,** He says, before forcing me out of my mind as I come to a scene which I didn't expect, I could see the Shinigami and my father conversing, and if I remembered correctly, only those invoking the Shinigami, or about to die, should see him, so I was thoroughly confused.

"_**Well, well, what do we have here, little Naruto can see me," **_I hear Shinigami speak, his voice having that echoing effect.

"What?!" I hear Minato ask in alarm as he looks down at me, and I look straight at Shinigami. "That shouldn't be possibl…" He trails off as he looks at my eyes.

"_**Do you see it, Minato? It would appear your child has a Kekkei Genkai (**_Blood Inheritance Limit_**), one that I have never seen before…" **_He trails off, leaving me confused. Kekkei Genkai? Yeah, right.

"I nor Kushina had a Kekkei Genkai, so how does he…" He asks, and inside I'm thinking the same thing.

"_**There could be many causes, a dormant trait that has only awoken now, my presence along with the Kyuubi's has mutated his blood, or it could just be that your boy there is the one Maejirase was talking about…"**_He trails off, and my dad stiffens a little.

"Maejirase? As in the Kami of Premonition?"

"_**Yes, my son, he has talked about the coming of a child, one prophesized for many generations, to bring an end, or a new beginning, but enough talk, we must get going," **_He says, and waves Minato over. He nods his head before handing me to Sarutobi, and walking towards him.

"One last question, Shinigami-sama," Minato asks boldly, getting a nod from him, "Is this the Rinnegan (_Samsara Eye_)?"

He chuckles darkly, even scaring me a little, _**"No, but that was a good question, don't worry though, I'll guess, as I gift to you, I'll keep you in the loop about yours son," **_He says, before disappearing, with my father right after.

A few tears escape my eyes, along with Sarutobi's, and I reach up to wipe them away.

"You are kind, it is obvious, even for your age," Sarutobi says lightly, and I giggle, "You shall be powerful ninja, and an even better Hokage…"

* * *

(Four Years Later…)

"I really wish they'd just leave me the hell alone, it's not like I ever do anything to piss them off," I mutter to myself as I practice in a field, beating the shit out of a log.

**Hm, I'm sorry it's not easy, but you knew you'd have to face these hardships again to save everyone, **Kyuubi lectures and I sigh.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, hm, think it's about time to switch training regime?" I ask, and I hear Kyu-kun grunt in agreement.

Halting my beating of the log, I close my eyes, pushing a little chakra into them, feeling the slight buzz.

"Zekkougan (_Perfect Eye_)!"

I could see in an almost three-sixty degree angel, and the birds and animals here and there seemed to move in slow motion, before I see another human in the trees, inspecting me.

Turning towards the intruder, I take on a sarcastic attitude, "If you're here to beat me too, you're a little late, and I'm not in the mood," I say, and see the person rear his head back in surprise.

"No, I'm not here to beat you, I was here to train, but it seems you had taken this as your own little training ground," Kakashi says as he jumps down, in his Jounin (_High Ninja_) outfit, meaning he had already left the ANBU.

"Eh, Kakashi?" I ask, and realize my mistake as he raises his eyebrow.

"Yes, how did you know?"

Thinking of a quick excuse, I lie expertly be smiling sheepishly, "Well, I sometimes hide in Ojii-sama's room, and I think I saw you once and heard your name!"

He looks at me oddly, but nods his head, "Then that would mean you're Naruto."

"Yes, now, what is the famous Copy-Nin doing? I hardly remember you ever training," I say, and berate myself as something slips again, and I'm about ready to beat the shit out of myself.

"I train daily, what makes you think otherwise?"

"Nothing, nothing, just something I heard in the grapevine," I sigh out, and then he takes notice of my eyes.

"Those are unique, what kind of Kekkei Genkai is that? You were able to detect me with them, so they must be good," He inquires, and I sigh.

"I call them the Zekkougan, since they didn't have an official name, but yes, they are good," I say, turning around and picking up a large handful of grass, and hold out my hand to him, "Mind if I borrow a kunai?" I ask, and he shakes his head before giving me one.

"What are you doing?"

"Giving a demonstration," I say, before throwing the grass in the air, as the ball of grass falls apart and the single strands go in different directions. Taking the kunai, I start to spin, and slash, and sort of dance as I cut _every _single blade of grass right in half, although it took a lot out of me.

Clapping rings in the clearing as Kakashi stares on, impressed, "It seems, from what I can deduce, that it combines the effects of the Sharingan (_Copy Wheel Eye_), which is the ability to predict and read movement, and the clarity and field of vision of the Byakugan (_White Eye_), but, it still seems far from completion, even though you have three tomoe, and two tomoe," He says, and I nod.

"Correct, four tomoe is the max, but I don't know if there's anything beyond that, but it has more then just those abilities, although I don't have any clue as to what they are," I say, and see him nod.

"I should get going, it's almost time for lunch, and Teuchi always gives me a free bowl of ramen," I say, canceling the Zekkougan and walking off.

"See you later, Kakashi-sensei," I say, smirking as he just quirks an eyebrow at me before shrugging and going on to train.

A few minutes later of glaring, threats, and name-calling, I'm at Ichiraku Ramen, announcing my arrival, "Oi (_Hey_), guess who's here?" I say, grinning as Teuchi's head pops out from the back of the little shop.

"Hey Naruto, nice to see my favorite customer is here for his free daily ramen," He says chuckling as he goes to work making my usual.

Hoping on a stool with grace unlike a normal four-year-old, I grin, "Of course! And don't worry! I can pay for the rest!"

"How, may I ask, does a four-year-old pay for a couple of bowls for ramen," I hear a voice behind me, and turn around to see Itachi about to take a seat.

"Uchiha Itachi?" I ask, and I see him look at me in surprise at know his name.

"Yes, and you are?" He asks, and I shrug.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you're the Uchiha prodigy, right?" I ask, and turn back to Teuchi as he places his bowl in front of me, and Itachi orders his.

"Correct, but you didn't answer my question," He says, and I chuckle as I slurp down some noodles.

"I get a monthly salary from the Hokage because of my living conditions," I say, Itachi receiving his order.

"Hm, and you seem well mannered for someone who does not belong to a prestigious clan, why is that?" He asks, and I couldn't help but be surprised by this behavior. Even before he killed his clan, I had heard he was kind of cold, yet here was, talking to me, of all people, and he was the one continuing the conversation!

"Hm, maybe I can tell you later, but I need to get going," I say, jumping down from the stool and waving to Teuchi, "See you tomorrow, Teuchi, and see you some other time, Itachi-san," I say before jumping onto the roof with a little difficulty, seeing as my four-year-old body wasn't supposed to be able to do that.

"Maybe, just maybe, there is hope for him…" I whisper to myself, jumping into my apartment, and brace myself as I hear the banging on the door, customary sign of my next beating.

I sigh, before smiling masochistically, "Bring it on."

**You've gone mad…**

_No, I just like to think of this as pain resistance training…_I respond, chuckling.

**No, you've gone mad, and that's that…**

_Well, maybe just a little…_

* * *

(Two Years Later)

I couldn't get to sleep, it was like the first time, I was too excited to go to school, which was simply strange.

_How long have we been friends, Kyu-kun? _I ask out of no where, and I hear him chuckle.

**Since you were about eighteen, so three years before the time-travel, and a year before you became Rokudaime, **He answers, and I nod, shaking my head.

_I need to do something… _I think to myself, before flipping off my bed and heading out to train.

As I walk through the empty streets of Konoha, the silence makes me smile at the tranquility.

_So different from the war…_

It slips into my head, and I shake the bad memory away, before remembering the last two years.

One of the more memorable things in the past two years I've done is save Hizashi, and Hinata. They don't know I did it, but it was surprisingly easy to trap the Jounin in a high rank Genjutsu (_Illusion Technique_), and take Hinata from him before he was found by the Hyuuga guards, and drop her back off in her bed, convincing her it was all just a bad dream.

But, one of the most surprising things is that Itachi visited Ichiraku ramen at the same time, every day, as if waiting for me, and I had little choice but to befriend him, and surprisingly, he was kinder then I thought. He paid attention to Sasuke's progress, and said he was proud and surprised, as well as saying that he loved his family, but was ashamed that they paid no attention to Sasuke. It was all quite surprising, and I couldn't believe that it was him that supposedly massacred his entire clan, which, I hope to stop in this next year if at all possible.

Stopping in front of a random store, I look at the glass, before activating the Zekkougan. I was still marveled at its beauty, and power. They iris was split into eight sections, alternating colors from light red to light blue, my pupil becoming sliver, and a ring hovering just around it, also silver, and the tomoe looked like teardrops.

But I was still dumbfounded by its most prominent ability. As I was walking through the village one day, a rogue Kaguya was struggling against his arrest, when he used the Shikotsumyaku (_Dead Bone Pulse_), firing a few fingertips at a nearby Jounin, although a few flew in my direction and I had to activate my Zekkougan to dodge, although one still scratched me, and he was instantly detained. When he used the Teshi Sendan (_Finger Bullet Drill_) though, I felt a slight stinging in my eyes, but I ignored it. Although, the next day, when I woke up, I felt a little sore, and tired, and when I was training, I_accidentally _used the Teshi Sendan. I knew that should've been impossible, so I was quick on question Kyu-kun, when he told me that my Zekkougan had altered my genes when it witnessed the Kekkei Genkai, and when the fingertip scratched me. Ever since then, I've had the ability to use Shikotsumyaku, which I have trained with ever since, as well. The strangest thing was, I had basic knowledge of the Shikotsumyaku, which was even more surprising then even having it.

_Hey, Kyu-kun, have you found out why I lived through the Kekkei Genkai Souseiki (_Blood Inheritance Limit Genesis_), because you said it takes massive amounts of chakra, enough to even wind you, and I don't have that much chakra in this body, _I inquire, and hear Kyu-kun, grunt, as I probably woke him up.

**Hm, actually, I have, but I've been hesitating on telling, **He says, and that gets my attention.

_Hesitant on telling me? What for?_

**Because, I don't want you using it too much, it reminds me of someone that I don't really like, **He says, and I can't help but be curious.

_Really? Someone that you don't like besides Madara? Who? _I ask.

**None of your business, but I think it about time I told you anyways, **He sighs as I make my way to the training grounds. **When I was feeding my chakra into you when you needed it for the time-travel technique, I wasn't exactly feeding my chakra into you, I was fusing my chakra with you and in result, and we created a new chakra.**

_Created a new chakra? As in a I have a chakra storage of this new chakra?_ I ask, quite curious as to why Kyu-kun would want to hide this information.

**Yes, you could say that, but it's vast, even with my near limitless chakra, it still is larger, because, from what I've deduced, we're both feeding chakra to it constantly, and its just getting bigger and bigger, but you can't use it! First off, this small body couldn't handle this much chakra right now, and, it seems tainted, not evil, exactly, but not good either, **He explains, and I nod my head, even though he can't see.

_But, what about Kekkei Genkai Souseiki? I didn't mean to use the onnen chakra (_Malice Chakra_), but the Zekkougan took from it._

**That, you don't have to worry about, the Zekkougan took from the onnen chakra because it is the largest storage of chakra, and it would be less harmful if taken from there, and as long as its only the Zekkougan taking from there, I don't care, just as long as you don't willingly use this onnen chakra, **He warns, voice grave and serious, **Oh, and nice name by the way, **He says out of no where, and I chuckle.

_Hey, might this be the reason that the Zekkougan awakened in this life time, and not the last? _I ask, and hear the Kyuubi hum in interest.

**Possibly, but all I know is that you have the Zekkougan now, and the onnen chakra, and its up to you how you use them, **He says, before breaking off the mental connection as I land in the training grounds.

Sighing, I feel like holding nothing back, as I create a strange hand-seal, "Adobansudo Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (_Advanced Shadow Clone Technique_)," I say, and I'm leaning on my knees a moment later, a near perfect clone in front of me.

Getting into my stance, I see it do the same, as it activates the Zekkougan, before we charge each other. The point behind this exercise was to find all the weak points in my defense and offense, by the clone using the Zekkougan, it can see and take advantage of all my weak spots, and then in turn I can find a way to improve my style. I have almost perfected my taijutsu (_Body Technique_), granted there were still some spot here and there that needed fixing.

We continue this for about three hours, the lights of dawn seeping over the horizon. I have an audience of about four ANBU by now as I grab my clones shoulder as its about the throw a punch and flip over him before kicking it in the back and making him lurch forward, before, he turns around and sweeps with his foot, which I back flip to avoid, before he charges from his position, keeping me on my toes, and breaking through my guard as he jumps, and kicks, making me grab his foot, but he was already in the motion of bringing his fist down on my head as I am sent to the ground, and my clone is still standing. Getting up quickly, I can see we're both badly bruised, beating on each other for hours and this being the result. Sighing, I dismiss the clone, and get a load of information as I lean against the tree, all the blind spots and openings the clone found being transferred to me.

"You can come out if you want, I know you're there," I say, and the four ANBU jump out of the trees, one with a dog mask, an elephant mask, a cat mask, and a bird mask.

"That was impressive, Naruto, especially for someone who hasn't even started the academy yet," Says the one with the bird mask, and I nod, panting.

"Well, it's not nice to spy on your own ninja," I say, and he chuckles, along with the rest.

"True, but you should get going, the academy starts in half an hour, even though you don't need it, apparently," He says, before they spread out across the village to keep the peace. Resting there for a bit longer, I start dashing through the trees to school.

Once I reach the main road, I jump down from the trees, and happen to come upon a lone Sakura.

She quickly hides behind a nearby pole, and hesitantly asks a question, "W-who are you? A-another b-bully?"

I blanch at her, but remember that Ino will help her out in the future, so I shouldn't interfere, but decide that I could help her today.

"No, I think we're both going to the academy though, so if you don't mind, I'll join you?" I ask, and she gives me a once over, before nodding hesitantly, and continuing on cautiously. Eventually, I had to take the lead, because she didn't seem to know where to go, but she followed me.

When we get to the school, I realize that everybody was still outside, and that the parents were there, and realize that I forgot that it was normally a custom for the parent to attend the first day of the academy with their child, which made me curious.

"Where are your parents?" I ask, and she looks at me before looking down at the ground.

"I-I got lost, and couldn't find mommy," She confesses, looking up and at the parents, probably searching for her own, "Where are yours?" She asks, and I chuckle, and see her look at me oddly.

"Don't have any," I say nonchalantly, and I see her face, and she's completely shocked, "Thanks for walking to the academy with me, see you," I say, before walking towards the group, and seeing Sakura's mother appear, looking worried.

"Wait, what's your name?" She asks, and I give her a grin.

"Uzumaki Naruto and you?" I ask.

"Haruno Sakura," She says, and I smile again.

"We probably won't talk like this again, so thanks," I say, before walking to the back of the group, and she's about to ask a question when her mom comes and hugs her, before she sees me, and she turns to Sakura, her face cold as she tells her not to talk to me, or not to trust me, just like all the other parents.

_Typical…_

To my surprise, instead of seeing Fugaku and Mikoto, I see Itachi and Sasuke, both of their parents probably busy. Debating wither I should go over and say hi, Itachi makes it for me as he walks towards me, Sasuke on his heels.

"Hey Itachi, where's Fugaku-sama and Mikoto-san?" I ask, and see him chuckle as Sasuke looks at me oddly.

"Okaasan and otousan are busy today, and the asked me to come in place of them, although I'm sorry to see that you have no one to come along with you," He says, and I chuckle.

"Your concern is appreciated, Itachi, but I'm used to it by now, sad as that is," I say, before noticing a young Iruka walk out of the academy, "Looks like class is about to begin," I comment, before walking with the rest of the group into the building as Iruka waved us in, Itachi on my heels.

* * *

I couldn't help but sigh. Through out the entire time, I've been stared at by EVERYONE, except Itachi, and it was starting to get on my nerves. Right now was something like free time or recess, the parents were allowed to mingle, and the kids could go outside if they wanted. I decided to stay in just because I wanted to hear what the parents would talk about, although I already knew well enough what their subject of conversation would be.

I go on my guard when Sakura's mother stomps over towards me, "What did you do to my daughter, demon," She demands, and I sigh at her arrogance.

"What makes you think I did anything to Sakura-san?" I ask, deciding against using chan, as it might upset her.

"So you're denying you did anything?" She questions, and I see her anger rise, and decide to humor her.

"All I did is meet her, answer her questions, follow her around, before I realized she was lost, and then led her back to the academy, I didn't do anything wrong to her, or you," I say, and she just doesn't seem to get it as she looks about ready to punch me.

"I would believe him if I were you, Naruto isn't one to lie, and I bet I could find a few ANBU to vouch for him," Says Itachi as he comes up behind her, and she turns around, staring him down, but I laugh when he just stares right back at her. She leaves after a minute, mumbling something about 'damned Uchiha.'

"Thanks for backing me up, I swear she was about to kill me," I joke, and see Itachi's face say apathetic.

"She probably would've, Naruto, its not a laughing matter," He says in complete seriousness, and I sigh.

"If she was going to try and kill me, I would've run, and you know that I'm elusive," I say, and see him nod, before he takes a seat next to me.

"I've been offered a position as an ANBU Captain," He says out of no where, and I look at him, a smile on my face.

"Well, that's good, isn't it? I mean, ANBU Captain at the age of, what, thirteen, twelve, is a feat in and of itself," I say in a jovial tone, and he smirks a little.

"Yes, but that would mean less time with you and Sasuke," He says, and I realize his dilemma.

"Oh, so that's it, well, if your worried about me, you shouldn't be, I can take care of myself, and your bound to be assigned to guard me a night or two, and as for Sasuke, I can try and become friends with him, but he has kids his own age around him, he should be fine, now," I say, and see Itachi nod and sigh, with a slightly amused smile.

"I guess that means your forcing me to become an ANBU Captain?" He asks, and I chuckle, while nodding.

I hum a bit, before shaking the thought from my head. If I confront him now about the massacre, he might still run, or worse, do it early, so it's best if I just wait…

Looking outside the window to all the kids having fun, I could only smile slightly.

_It's hard to imagine that they all become so serious and deadly in the future, _I think to myself, before chuckling again, _I sound like an old man! I'm only twenty seven for Kami's sake!_

**Yes, but you've always been wiser for your age, even when you were just a 'failure.'**

_True, true, but still…_

**You still refuse to accept that Itachi killed his entire clan, even though it's true?**

_He hasn't killed his entire clan, not yet, not this time, and I plan to keep it that way…_

Just then, the bell rings, and the kids flood back in, and as usual I move to the back, putting my head down and letting my eyes droop.

I bring my head up fast enough that it pops, and wince a little as the bell rings and everybody else starts to leave. Getting up, I stretch before I see Iruka staring at me.

"What?" I ask, and I see him shake his head before asking.

"Did you sleep throughout the entire lecture on the Ninja Caste System?" He asks, and I chuckle as I start to walk down the stares.

"Gennin (_Low Ninja_), Chuunin (_Middle Ninja_), Tokubetsu Jounin (_Special High Ninja_), Jounin, ANBU, Sannin (_Three Ninja_), and Kage (_Shadow_)," I say, before looking over my shoulder and smirking at Iruka's surprised face.

"See ya, Iruka-sensei!"

* * *

(Night of the Uchiha Massacre)

I sigh as I camp out in a tree in the Uchiha Compound. I was going to stop Itachi, by force or reason I didn't know yet, but I was worried when I heard Shisui was killed.

_Okay, so far so good, no sign of Itachi yet, _I think to myself, concentrating on sensing chakra alone, my range approximately two miles. I had been working on chakra control a LOT!

That is, until I sense a foreign chakra, but not all together unfamiliar.

"Madara…" I whisper, before jumping full speed across the roof tops towards his destination. He was heading straight for an Uchiha. Wincing as I jump, I pull out of my shoulder a blade made from my upper arms, increasing the density of the bone to make it harder then steel. I come in sight of the on the ground and injured Uchiha as Madara posing as Itachi comes closer.

Jumping down, I block the katana Itachi was swinging down, struggling with his force.

"What the-," He starts, but I ignore him and turn my head towards the Uchiha.

"Get out of here now! Go find an ANBU!" I yell, before turning my attention to Madara again.

I could see his anger in his eyes as he glares at the running Uchiha, quickly taking out a kunai and launching it at his receding back. Reacting on instinct, I thrust my hand up, feeling the cold steel pierce my skin and go all the way through. Flinching, I feel the pressure in my stomach before I'm sent back.

"Well, well, who do we have here? A little hero?" He asks in a mocking tone.

Looking up, and standing with a little difficulty, I see his surprise, "You could say that, but I like to think of myself as a good citizen," I respond, smirking at his surprise.

"How are you still standing? That should've broken your ribs…" He asks, and I smirk again, flipping the bone-sword in my hand.

"It's called the Shikotsumyaku, baka," I say, before charging him, remembering to use the Tsubaki no Mai (_Dance of the Camellia_), being more effective then just swinging the sword. I could see he was having a little trouble dodging, and accepting the fact that a six year old was putting him on his toes.

Unluckily, he finds an opening, and knees me in the chest, knocking me back as I grunt a little, before he heel drops the back of my head.

"I have to admit, pretty strong for a fuckin' six year old, but not good enough," He says, before he brings the katana on the back of my Kage Bunshin's (_Shadow Clone's_) head, and I chuckle from atop a roof nearby.

"And I'd say you're a little cocky," I say, before jumping down with grace, and forming another hand seal, creating six other clones. Nodding my head to one side, they all go in different directions.

"I'm sending them off to get the real Itachi, and some back up," I say, seeing Madara look surprised and confused.

"And what makes you think I'm not Itachi," He asks, and I just glare.

"What's my name?" I ask, and see Madara look confused.

"How should I know?" He says, before realizing that it was a mistake.

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto, and Itachi, is one of my best friends," I say, before charging him again, this time ditching the bone-sword, and going for the other technique I remember from Kimimaro's repertoire, the Yanagi no Mai (_Dance of the Willow_). I could see the surprise as he sees sharpened bones grow from my knees, elbows, shoulders, and palms. Using acrobatics I have practiced for a couple of years, I start to flip and dance around Madara, cutting him up and giving him a hard time to catch me.

"How is such a little kid giving me such a hard time?!" He asks himself, irritated with me as I smirk. He kicks me in the chest, but his eyes grow wide, and my smirk deepens.

"Karamatsu no Mai (_Dance of the Larch_)," I answer his unasked question, and take a palm blade and stab him in the stomach, seeing him lurch back.

"Being careless is getting you beat by a little kid, Madara," I address him by his real name, and see him stare at me, "And unless you get out of here, I'll have more then enough ANBU supporting me to take you down."

I could see the anger growing behind his eyes, and harden my own face as I activate the Zekkougan, see his anger be doused by surprise, but only for a moment.

"I say, you take this seriously, or everyone will know that Uchiha Madara, the founder of the Uchiha, was beaten by a six year old kid," I say, seeing right through his disguise with the Zekkougan. It was quite powerful, enough for him to withstand damage without it falling, but still not as strong as Tsunade's.

I knew egging him on wasn't the best idea, but I didn't want to be taken TOO lightly, but I knew I was screwed when he activated the Mangekyou Sharingan (_Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye_). I only had three tomoe in each of my eyes, and if I lived through this, I was bound to have four in at least one.

"Your mistake was mentioning my name," He says, before I feel his hand in my gut, my Zekkougan seeing, but my body to slow, before I smile as best I can.

"Your mistake is underestimating me," I say, before a Kage Bunshin hits him in the back of the head, being released for a second, spinning around and flipping through a few hand seals, already feeling the drain on my chakra.

"Fuuton: Yaiba no Mai (_Wind Release: Dance of Blades_)," I say, a gust of wind faster then the Sharingan could hitting Madara and sending him back and into a house, cuts appearing all over his body. He gets up like nothing happened, all his wounds healing, and I just chuckle, coughing up a little blood.

"Don't you get it yet, I'm immortal, you cannot defeat me," He says, walking towards me slowly.

"But even you can't resist over thirty ANBU, they'd get you in custody eventually, and then you'd be stuck in Konoha," I say, and he scowls.

He picks me up by the neck; as I was severely weaken by that last technique, it being S-rank, which for a six year old should be impossible.

"Give me one reason to not kill you," He says, tightening his grasp on my neck. I try and chuckle, before pointing over his shoulder to the large group of ANBU, with Gai and Kakashi there as well.

"Itachi, put Naruto down," Orders one of the ANBU, and I see Madara frown in annoyance. A moment later, he has his arm around my neck and a kunai to my temple.

"Stay back or I will kill him," He says, and a smirk, adjusting my elbow so that it was close to his heart, before extending my elbow bone to jam it in his chest, weakening it at the point of contact, and hardening the part inside of him, before breaking the bone at the weak point. I also harden my skull, as he only just cuts my temple, and doesn't pierce it, before he drops me, grabbing at the bone inside of him, which was undeniably painful. Turning around, I bring my finger up to his gut, and call out a magic word.

"Kai," And the genjutsu Madara had on breaks like glass, revealing his true self, as I bring my hand back, before shoving it in his gut, with a Rasengan in hand. Everyone watches in astonishment as Madara is sent flying back words, and I stumble forward a bit, all this exercise and fighting draining almost all my chakra.

Turning around, and limping towards the group, I look around, Itachi not in my sight, "Where is Itachi?" I ask, and everybody just looks at me, before I turn my head to the right because I hear a noise, and smile as I fall to the ground unconscious, knowing Itachi could clear things up.

* * *

"Oh, what a headache…" I mutter to myself as I sit up, knowing I'm in a hospital by the smell of alcohol and blood in the air.

Popping an eye open, I see Fugaku, Mikoto and Itachi at the foot of my bed, and I sigh. They either wanted an explanation, or to thank me, I was going for the former.

"And what might bring the prestigious head of the Uchiha clan here, Fugaku-sama?" I ask, rubbing my temples.

"First off, I'd like to thank you for probably saving the Uchiha clan, although I don't know how," He says, bowing slightly, and I respond as best I can in the bed, "And I'd also like to know how you knew it wasn't Itachi, and how you even fended him off."

I chuckle a little bit, and it surprises Fugaku, "I saw through his genjutsu with my Kekkei Genkai," I answer, and see the three fault a little as they receive the information. Surprised I didn't tell Itachi? I couldn't, otherwise he could've come up with a way to beat me, and that would have put a dent in my plans.

"Kekkei Genkai? Why didn't you tell me Naruto?" Itachi asks, and Fugaku and Mikoto look at him strangely.

"Because, I can't tell you every, Itachi," I say, looking at Fugaku and Mikoto's reaction.

"You've met this boy before?" They ask, and I'm a little surprised.

"Yes, I have lunch with him almost everyday," Itachi says like it was a common fact, but I could tell it wasn't.

"Lets just put it this way, Fugaku-sama, he keeps me company at lunch by giving me someone to talk to, since no one else will, considering my tenant isn't favored," I explain, and Mikoto glances at me with surprise.

"So, you know about the Kyuubi," Sarutobi says as he walks in, and the other three bow while I grin.

"Oi, Ojii-sama! How's it goin'?" I ask, and see the old man chuckle as the three start to leave.

"Don't leave just yet, you may finish your conversation, I just want some time alone with Naruto afterwards," He says, and the three stop, before returning to their spots as Sarutobi goes and sits in a corner.

"Well, since there's nothing much more to ask then this, what is your Kekkei Genkai?" Fugaku asks.

Shrugging, I activate them and see Mikoto gasp, and Fugaku and Itachi stare on in surprise, "I call them the Zekkougan, since this is the first time they've surfaced in my family, and I'll write scroll for you later," I say, looking in the mirror to see if I had any more tomoe, and I smirk as I see four in one eye.

_Thought so…_ I think, as the three exit the room and Sarutobi comes up and sits on the bed, drawing my attention as I deactivate my eyes.

"So, Naruto, how long have you known about the Kyuubi," He demands, in a kind tone, of course, Sarutobi wasn't one to be cruel.

"Since Mizuki told me while he was trying to take the Scroll of Sealing from me which I stole because he told me to," I say fast enough to confuse him, but not enough for him to miss it.

"Okay, first of all, there is no Mizuki in this village, I know, I've memorized everyone in the villages name, second, the Scroll of Sealing is in my office, I know because I was just examining it, and you've been in here the entire time," He says, and I sigh, before flipping through hand seals.

"Okay, how about I just show you?" I ask, before finishing with the tiger seal, "Reitensou no Jutsu (_Spirit Transmission Technique_)." I whisper, holding my wrist and placing my palm on Sarutobi's forehead as his eyes role into the back of his head, and I feel Sarutobi's spirit leave my body, and sigh when I take my hand away, and Sarutobi closes his eyes.

"Naruto," He rasps with a dry voice, "What was that?" He asks, and I chuckle and lean back.

"Those were your memories," I say, and see him open his eyes and stare at me.

"So, what I just saw, it's all true?" He asks, and I nod.

"Not pleasant, right? I've had to experience your memories for the past six years, so I know how you feel right now," I say, and see Sarutobi sigh.

"If all this is true, then that means you've been changing lots of things," He says, and I nod, "Be careful Naruto, you don't know how much you could've changed, the future might not be the same anymore."

"Exactly," I answer immediately, not at all fazed by his warning.

"I considered that when I made the choice to come back in time. I'm not an idiot, I was the Rokudaime for a reason," I say, and I see Sarutobi nod.

"You transferred some of your memories as well on purpose, didn't you?" He asks, and I nod, before he gets up and dusts off his robes. "I will be seeing you as soon as you get out of the hospital, we need to talk about your training," He says, shutting the door right after before I could even ask a question.

"Training," I ask to an empty room, leaning back on the wall.

"I can only imagine…"

* * *

_**Review if you please!**_

_** I hope those of you who liked my God-Naruto last time aren't mad at me, but I did realize that Naruto was a little strong, eh, slash that, WAY stronger then he should have been, he'll be powerful in this, just, not GODLY! Besides that, I'm only making a few changes to the whole thing.**_

_** Also, as I said in the beginning, I will be writing a spin off fic of this explaining some things, and the scroll from Naruto to Fugaku will be the first chapter, and it will go in depth about this Zekkougan and its abilities, for those of you who are interested!**_

_**Once again, I'd like to say thanks for those that review in advance, and for those of you who are thinking of flaming, go somewhere else, or else your feeling will be returned in kind. And for those planning on giving constructive criticism, thank you for taking enough time from whatever it is you do, and trying to help me along my way! As well, thank you who decide to read, but not review, for giving my fic a try! **_

_**Lol, until next time! **_


	2. Progress

_**The Kyuubi's Gift: Second Coming**_

_**Well, it's been a while, has it not? Nothing much I can say, besides I hope you guys like this chapter. I worked kind of hard on this one, and I had to re-write it like five different times, but I think this one was the best. Although it's a little strange, I hope it's still good! Enjoy!**_

_**Chapter II**_

_**Progress…**_

Grunting as I lean back on my hands, I use my strength to left my legs up quickly and bring my foot to Super Bushy Brow-sensei's face, sending him into the air, before I land in a crouch. Spinning, I trip Itachi-nii as he charges me, catching himself before my fist finds his chest, throwing him off balance before bringing my foot to his face, sending him spinning. I activate my Zekkougan (_Perfect Eye_) and lean forward as Hiashi-sensei almost lands a blow to my back, before forcing him to back off by bringing my foot up, giving me breathing room.

Getting into the Juuken (_Gentle Fist_), I charge him, trusting my palm forward and watching him lean. After getting into a little of a stalemate, he lands a solid blow on my chest, sending me back. Grunting as I slide back, I deactivate the Zekkougan and duck as Kakashi-sensei's foot goes flying over my head, before I bring my foot up, trying to connect with his chin before he leans back and grabs the foot, flinging me over his shoulder. Landing on my feet on a tree, I look up to see Kakashi-sensei following his throw with another attack. Smirking a little, I release the chakra in my feet, falling right before Kakashi-sensei's follow up lands. Jumping away from the tree, I turn and land, before jumping again at Kakashi-sensei. Knowing that he would be able to dodge this next punch, I decide to surprise them as I focus the max amount of chakra into fist as possible, and let my fist fly. Doing just as I predicted, I let the chakra explode out as my fist connects with the tree, smashing the part I hit to pieces, and making it fall over.

Looking over my shoulder, I could see the surprise written all over their faces.

"H-how…" Super Busy Brow-sensei stutters as the tree falls and causes a small shock along the ground.

Relaxing and loosening up my shoulder, I can only grin at their faces.

"Like? I've been working on it for the last three years, trying to mimic Tsunade's legendary technique, and I decided to show it to you guys."

The surprise quickly fades from Itachi-nii's face as he smiles as well, "Nice work Otouto, I didn't know you had that kind of control," Itachi-nii compliments, a small bit of pride in his eyes.

"Nice, Naruto," Kakashi-sensei says as he shakes the surprise, giving me an eye smile, "Your chakra control has greatly improved since we started training you."

"Yes, very impressive Naruto-kun! You're fiery spirit shines through the training taken to master such a difficult technique!" Super Bushy Brow-sensei yells with his usual vigor.

"Hmm, with your control now, you could easily learn Hakkeshou Kaiten (_Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin_)," Hiashi-sensei comments, with a small smile on his face.

All of a sudden, all of our attention is diverted to the clapping coming from nearby, only to see Ojii-sama.

"That was very impressive Naruto. You're training with these four has been very fruitful," He says with his usual, kind, smile.

"Thanks, Jii-sama!" I yell out with my usual vigor.

"Not to mention, you've gotten a lot better, I remember when we started training; you couldn't even make it to a minute. Now look at you! That spar was at least thirty minutes," Kakashi-sensei says happily.

"Yeah, but if you guys were to go all out, and I did too, I'd still get my ass handed to me," I say, my grin not faltering, knowing that that would change eventually.

"Oh, well, I should get going home, I promised Sasuke that I would teach him something," Itachi-nii says, before disappearing in a poof of smoke.

"Okay, I guess that's all for today, thanks again for the training, and see you tomorrow!" I yell as the others bow before leaving, only me and Ojii-sama in the clearing now.

"You're training is going great, but it never seems to show during school, why is that, Naruto?" He asks as he takes out his pipe and lights it.

Walking over and leaning against a tree, I sigh, "Because, if I continue like this, it's guaranteed that I'll be on Sasuke, and Sakura's team, and also because I don't anybody to know that I'm this good. It'd only attract attention."

"True, true," He says as he walks over and joins me against the tree, "But I know it's hard for you to sit by and watch you're self get shown up by Sasuke. Again," He says, and I chuckle.

"That's obvious, but if I want things to be as they were last time, I have to keep this charade up. If I stopped now, someone would get suspicious, and Sakura's mother might pull her from the academy. It might be safer for her, but she lives near the gates, and that section of the village was destroyed during the Sand/Sound invasion." I explain, and the old man nods his understanding.

"I think this training is really helping. By the time the Akatsuki come, you should be at least able to hold them off, until somebody shows up." Ojii-sama comments, changing the subject, causing me to chuckle.

* * *

(Three years earlier)

"So, Jii-sama, what did you…" I trail off as I enter the office, seeing Itachi, Kakashi-sensei, Hiashi-sama, and Super Bushy Brow-sensei standing there.

"Ah, just on time Naruto. I would like you to meet you're new sensei," he says with a smile, while Hiashi-sama turns back to Ojii-sama.

"No offense, Hokage-sama, but this is the child you were talking about? I do not wish to be rude, and I don't take offense to his condition, but what would I have to teach Naruto? My only specialty is the Juuken." At this, I was raising my brow as well at Ojii-sama.

"And that's exactly what I want from you," he replies with a smile. "You see, Naruto has somewhat of a new Kekkei Genkai (_Blood Inheritance Limit_), and it is my wish that you four will train him to use it to its full potential."

At this point, Super Bushy Brow-sensei had turned to Ojii-sama, and was now giving him the 'Nice Guy' pose. "If his youthful spirit is strong enough, then I will gladly train this boy to my best ability!"

At this, Ojii-sama smiles, before looking at Itachi, "Do you have any problem, Itachi?"

"No, none at all, I'd quite enjoy training Naruto, actually," He says, a small smile flashing over his face, before Hiashi-sama sighs, catching Ojii-sama's attention.

"Well, if this boy can learn the Juuken with his own Kekkei Genkai, then I accept. This boy looks like he needs some discipline anyway," He says, eyeing me, making me grin.

"You have any objections, Kakashi?" Itachi asks, raising a brow at the ex-ANBU.

"No, not in particular; and it seems to me that it'll be more fun then dealing with the Gennin."

"Then its official, Uzumaki Naruto is now apprentice to all of you until further notice!"

* * *

(Now)

"Oh well, what do you plan on doing about the invasion? You should be preparing now, as the early bird gets the worm." I ask, hearing the Hokage chuckle.

"I have the seats in the Chuunin stadium being built so that they can fall out and the villagers lead to a safe place. I plan to have ANBU at the sites where the summoning of the three-headed snake is to take place, to keep it from happening. I'm planning a new evacuation plan to help the villagers, and students, escorted to safety quicker the before, and am insuring most of the houses within the danger area are insured." He explains, causing me to nod.

"Although I still haven't a clue about what to do about the fight with Orochimaru," He says with a sigh, and it's my turn to chuckle.

"Leave that to me, I'm sure I'll have an idea by then, and a few techniques to help you with the undead Hokage," I explain while standing up and stretching. "Well, I better get going, I need sleep if I'm to stay awake during class, and have enough energy to train with Super Bushy Brow-sensei!" I say, grinning before running off towards my apartment.

* * *

I couldn't help but sigh to prepare for the long day ahead of me. The villagers had been waiting for me to get home, because I received the worst beating yet. Of course, Itachi-nii interrupted them about half-way through, apologizing for being late on his shift. I forgave him; it wasn't his fault after all.

Sliding the door, I shuffle into the room with a yawn, heading for my seat in the back next to the window, and Shikamaru. Ignoring the usual taunts and yelling, I sit at my desk before setting my head down and resting my eyes.

Hearing the click of the door to the class room closing, the instant silence in the room, I deduce that Iruka-sensei has walked into the room. A moment later, I hear the whizzing of something flying through the air, and on instinct, because I'm so tired, I catch the chalkboard eraser without lifting my head, before hearing the gasp and realizing that that was bad.

Lifting my head, and deciding to play it cool, I tell Iruka-sensei, "Please don't throw stuff, I had a rough not and wasn't able to get that much sleep."

I could see the shock quickly before Iruka-sensei shook it off and glared at me, "I'm sorry Naruto, but you need to stay awake."

Sighing, I lean back in my chair before Iruka-sensei starts the class, and I dose slightly.

"Wake up Naruto, were supposed to go outside," I hear voice call out to me, and open my eyes to see Shikamaru standing there in his usual hunch. Standing up and yawning, I grin.

"Thanks Shikamaru, I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night," I explain, and he nods before I start to follow him out of the class.

Deciding to start a conversation, I speak up. "Hey, you like shougi, right?"

I see Shikamaru look over his shoulder at me, before responding with an obvious yes.

"Then, during the weekend, meet me up at the top of the Hokage monument, and we'll play a game. All you have to do is come; I'll bring the refreshments and the board!" I say, giving him a grin, and watching him throw another glance over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but you don't seem to the type that would be good at shougi, and not to brag, but I'm really good," He says in his usual bored tone, and I chuckle.

"Only one way to find out," I reply, before walking ahead of him and out into the field, where the rest of the class was waiting for us.

"Okay, good, we have the entire class here." Iruka-sensei announces, getting the class' attention. "Today is a special training at the request of the Hokage," He says, and I perk up a little; "We will be sparring with other students from the class today. The Hokage asked that everyone please don't hold back, but not to use deadly force either."

I couldn't help but sigh at the underlying message to me. '_Try, but don't hurt anybody.'_

"We will be drawing to see who's first, and who your sparring partner is," He says as he walks by holding a box, each student picking a number. Unfurling my piece, I smirk as I have a piece that has one written on it.

"Would the students with one step up, please," He says, and I take a step forward, Sakura-chan following the same action.

_Great, just great, I have to spar seriously, and it's Sakura-chan that I have to spar with._

**Just don't go too hard on her, it's not like you have to hurt her.**

_True, true, and I might be able to find out how everyone else has progressed._

Popping my neck as we get to the center of the clearing, I'm a bit taken back when Sakura-chan enters a vaguely familiar stance.

_That stance…_

Grinning, and surprising Iruka-sensei and most of the class, I charge her, deciding to test out the Taijutsu (_Body Technique_), and find out if it was the one I thought it was. Throwing a deliberately easy to read punch, Sakura-chan side steps it before using one hand to lower my arm, and the other to deliver a quick palm to my face. I could've blocked it, but most would've been caught by it, so I decided against it.

Smirking, I see the surprise on Sakura-chan's face.

"Not bad, Sakura-chan," I declare, before I leap at her quickly, throwing a quick and brutal kick, and watch as Sakura-chan ducks. Smirking, I complete Konoha Daisenpu (_Leaf Great Whirlwind_) by quickly following with another kick, aim lower then the first, watching as Sakura-chan guards and is only sent skidding back.

_Because of her stance, she was able to guard the second blow. This is definitely the stance I remember. It's the Taigaken (_River Fist_), named so because of its incredible flexibility, and beauty._

"Taigaken…" I whisper as she looks taken back again. "Where in the world did you learn such an advanced Taijutsu?"

Standing up again, she regains her stance and glares at me.

"Defeat me and I might tell you," She says, and I grin. Charging at her again, I throw a punch, which she easily deflects, before bringing my palm towards her face, to which she merely leans back before bringing her own leg up. Using the arm that was deflected, I block the kick and grab her leg, before throwing my own kick which she grabs as well.

"This is weird," I mumble, a sweat drop appearing on my forehead before I let go of her leg and spin, causing her to release my foot. Grinning, and still on my hands, I bring my heel down on her exposed stomach, causing her to flinch as I stand up before jumping with excessive force, causing her to land on the ground. Hard.

"I see you still haven't mastered it yet, but it's still pretty good," I comment as I turn around and see her getting up. Raising my eyebrow, I can only smile at her determination. As she gets up, I can see her getting into an altered version of the stance, sparking my interest. Deciding to see what this one could do, and throwing caution to the wind, I charge her, throwing a normal right hand punch. Big mistake on my part.

I can only watch in amazement at this next display of unexpected skill. Using the hand that is closer to me, which is her left, she deflects the blow by pushing my forearm, before spinning her palm and grabbing my forearm. After doing so, she uses her other hand to press against my elbow, keeping my arm straight, and using her right leg to trip me. After planting her right foot firmly to the ground, she raises her left leg over my head before bringing it down and catching my head between her thighs. Of course, my line of vision was focused towards the ground; thank god for that or I would've been called a pervert.

In the background, I can hear Iruka-sensei started the countdown.

"One…"

"Escape this hold, Naruto," Sakura-chan demands all of a sudden, catching my attention.

"Two…"

"What makes you think I can?" I reply.

"Three…"

"From the way you were fight back there," She replies, and edge to her voice that I was very familiar with from my earlier days.'

"Four…"

"Very funny Sakura-chan, the only thing I did back there that had any skill in it at all was that Konoha Daisenpu," I respond, hearing her growl.

"Five…"

"You KNEW about the Taigaken, meaning that you would most likely know other Taijutsu," She says, a growl to her voice, making me chuckle.

"Six…"

"That maybe so, but what makes you think I have the skill to escape this hold?"

"Seven…"

"You could probably just brute you're way out," She says.

"Eight…"

"Maybe…" I respond, hearing her growl again.

"Nine…"

"Naruto…" She growls lightly, and I can tell that she's almost at her peak.

"TEN! Haruno Sakura is the winner!" Iruka-sensei calls and I chuckle.

"Too late," I say with a grin.

"Butthead," She curses as she squeezes my head and presses on my elbow before letting go, causing me to flinch.

"That hurt Sakura-chan," I pout as I sit cross-legged, before grinning as she glares back at me.

"You were holding back, weren't you!?" She exclaims, and, looking around, I realize this isn't the best place. Standing up, I walk over to her, before whispering.

"Yes, I was. And, as an apology, how about I treat you to something to eat? If you want that is. Meet me after school at the swing if you do," I whisper, before walking over to the group and watching the rest of the fights.

* * *

Yawning as the bell for after school detention rings, I get up before grabbing my backpack and heading out the door.

"See you tomorrow, Iruka-sensei!" I call over my shoulder, grinning.

"See you Naruto, and try to stay out of trouble," He says, giving a small smile in return.

"You're late," I hear a familiar voice call, and look over to see Sakura-chan sitting on the swing.

"Well, I actually didn't expect you to accept. I thought you'd blow me off, everyone else does," I say as I shrug and start to walk, and she's on my heels immediately.

"So, you were holding back during that fight, weren't you?" She asks, seemingly calmer then before.

"Yes, I was, but let's talk about that in a more private place. Does ramen sound good to you?" I ask, changing the subject and seeing her roll her eyes.

"I guess…"

"Don't worry, it's on me, and if anybody asks, I'll just tell them that I lost something and you returned, so I was treating you to some food. We'll talk about it when we get there, okay?" I ask, and she looks at me strangely, before sighing and nodding.

Seeing as Ichiraku ramen is a decent walk away, we weren't half-way there before Sakura-chan starts to notice the whispering and the glaring in our direction. I sigh as I quickly think of a way to distract her from them.

"So, who taught you that Taijutsu?" I ask out of the blue, and she looks surprised, before putting on a prideful smile.

"My dad made it!" She declares, and I'm already thinking.

"You're father is Takaharu Makoto?" I ask, and she smiles and nods.

"Yep! Except, he only goes by Takaharu on missions! He adopted my mom's last name…" She says, cheerful at the beginning of the sentence, before dying off.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" I ask, worried, before she looks up at me and stops, seemingly examining me.

"My…" She trails off, "Mom left me and my dad two years ago, over a fight about a demon or something." She says, her head hanging, and I can't help the pang of guilt the flashes across my heart.

"My, mom kept calling the kid a demon, and my dad kept calling him a hero, until eventually they just left each other. I stayed with my dad, but they haven't divorced yet, and I'm hoping that they might get back together," She explains, her eyes still downcast, and I can't help what I do next.

Walking up to her, I place my finger under her chin before lifting her eyes level with mine.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan," I say, and she gives me a surprised look.

"It's not your fault, so don't apologize," She says, putting on a fake smile.

"It is my fault," I say clearly, nothing on my face saying otherwise. "I'm the kid they were talking about," I explain, and I see her eyes grow wide, and the hurt in them is obvious.

"If you hate me now, I don't mind," I proclaim, plastering on a giant fake grin. "I'm used to it."

At this, her eyes grow even wider, and tears brim as she stares at me for what seems like forever.

"Y-you're… used to being… hated?" She asks all kinds of emotions flashing through her eyes, before she gives a sudden cry and tackles me with a hug, surprising me enough to lose my footing, causing us to crash to the ground.

"I'm so sorry Naruto!" She says into my chest as she cries there, surprising me even more. Realizing this isn't the best place, or time for this, I get up quickly, using Shunshin (_Body Flicker_) to move us instantly to a more private place.

Still surprised at these turn of events, I realize that Sakura-chan is still crying into my chest, and I decide to wrap my arms around her in a hug.

"Why are you sorry?" I ask, seeing her look up at me with red-puffy eyes from crying.

"Because, you said you're used to being hated, and I was always one of the cruelest to you!" She says, hiccupping here and there, and I can't help but give her a small, genuine smile.

"I've never blamed you for that, Sakura-chan," I say, and she looks up at me with surprise, before burying her head in my jacket again.

"Mom was wrong about you…" She says into my chest and I almost don't catch it.

"You're too nice to be a monster…" She whispers, and once again, I'm surprised. Smiling, I tighten my hug a little, before hearing something and pushing Sakura-chan behind me to defend her, catching her off guard.

"What are you doing with this demon, kid?" A Chuunin asks, coming from the bushes.

"Naruto is not a demon!" She responds angrily, glaring at him and stepping out from behind me.

"Huh, what did you do to her, demon? Brainwash her? Trick her?" He asks, and looking to my side, I see Sakura-chan getting angrier.

"He did not!" She yells.

"Heh, you wouldn't know if you were brainwashed anyways. You're just a stupid little kid, and his a bastard demon," He says, and now my anger has just been riled at the comment about Sakura-chan.

"Please! Naruto's a thousand times nicer then you are!" She claims, and my anger spikes when I see him raise his hand.

"Don't you DARE, harm Sakura-chan," I growl, my hand around his wrist, before I throw him at a nearby tree.

"Stand back, Sakura-chan," I say calmly, watching the Chuunin get up and glare at me.

"You're going to pay for that, demon!" He yells charging me.

Activating the Zekkougan, I glare right back. "Just try it," I threaten as he throws a punch, in his rage forgetting basic Taijutsu. Just rolling my eyes, I side step the punch, before knee him in the stomach and causing him to back off. Jumping in the air, I bring up my right leg, before bringing it down on his school as he regains balance, causing him to bend as if bowing. Landing, I bring my opposite leg up, punting him and sending him flying back. As he barely lands with any balance, I'm already at his face, fist charged with Chakra. I could tell he could sense it as he closes his eyes, and I stop my fist right at his forehead. Smirking as he opens an eye, I flick him the same way Tsunade-baa-chan flicked me and send him flying.

Just as he's trying to get up again, seeing as he landed against a tree, I step on his chest.

"You and your friends can beat on my all you want, but when you raise your hand against my friends, that's where I draw the line," I growl, watching as he starts to crawl away, before getting up and running.

Sighing, I turn around and see Sakura-chan standing there, mouth ajar in amazement.

"That was amazing Naruto!" She whispers, looking at me with astonishment.

"Not really, he forgot his most basic Taijutsu, so it wasn't that hard to beat him," I counter, watching her glare at me slightly.

"Geez, can't you even take a compliment?" She asks, and I laugh.

"Okay, I guess it was pretty cool," I say, and she smiles.

"That's better!" She proclaims, and I chuckle.

"Well, I still owe you that ramen, if you still want it," I say, and she smiles and nods.

"Better then just sitting around the house and waiting for dad to get home."

Nodding I go up to her and pick her up bridal style, and use Shunshin to appear in front of Ichiraku, before placing her on the ground, not missing the blush on her face.

"You're late, Otouto," Itachi-nii says as I enter, Sakura-chan right behind me.

"Sorry Itachi-nii, I kind of got held up," I say as I hop on a stool, Sakura hopping on the one next to me.

"Don't tell me-," Starts saying, and grave look on his face before I grin and interrupt him.

"No, actually this time it was the other way around, he raised his hand against Sakura-chan," I say, and he looks a little surprised, before looking past me at Sakura-chan.

"Hm, Sasuke mentioned a Haruno Sakura once," He says, and Sakura-chan perks up.

"You know Sasuke-kun?" She asks, and I grin.

"Actually, Itachi-nii is his older brother!" I proclaim, and she gets a confused look on her face.

"Then, why do you call Naruto otouto?" She asks, and I look at Itachi-nii before looking back at her.

"Don't ask me," I mumble as Itachi-nii scratches the back of his head.

"I call him Otouto, because he doesn't have a family, and we're close," He explains, and Sakura-chan all of a sudden has a crestfallen look on her face.

"Oh," She says, "I forgot you didn't have a family Naruto…" She says, and I just laugh, causing her to look up at me.

"Well, with friends like Itachi-nii, I'm pretty sure I know what a family feels like," I say, and she smiles a little.

"Are you going to introduce us to you're new friend, Naruto?" Kakashi-sensei asks as he enters as well, followed by Hiashi-sensei and Super Bushy Brow-sensei.

"Oh, that's right; I haven't formally introduced you guys yet!" I exclaim, Sakura-chan examining the new comers.

"Guys, this is my classmate, Haruno Sakura! Sakura-chan, this is Uchiha Itachi, the strongest Uchiha," I say as I point at Itachi-nii, bowing his head a little.

"Nice to meet you, Itachi-san," She says, giving a small, shy smile.

"This is Hatake Kakashi, also know as the Copy Ninja," I introduce, while Kakashi looks up from his book and gives an eye smile.

"Hello, Hatake-san," She says timidly.

"Kakashi's fine," He says, before look back at his book.

"This is Maito Gai, but I just call him Super Bushy Brow-sensei," I say, grinning as she snickers at the nickname.

"Hello Maito-san," She says, still snickering, but, like always, Super Bushy Brow-sensei doesn't seem to mind, or notice.

"Yosh! Such youthfulness is inspiring! It is nice to meet you Sakura-chan!" He says excitedly, causing me to chuckle.

"And last, but not least, is Hyuuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuuga clan and Hinata-chan's father," I say with a grin, and Sakura-chan bows.

"Nice to meet you, Hiashi-sama," She says, and Hiashi-sensei bows as well, giving a small smile.

"Nice to meet you too, Haruno-san," He replies, and I grin.

"Okay! Time for ramen!" I yell almost, hearing the others sigh.

* * *

"That was really fun! Kakashi-kun is actually kinda funny!" She says a grin on her face as she walks backwards as I'm walking her home.

"Yeah, he can be sometimes, but truth me told, Kakashi-sensei is kind of lazy," I say, and she giggles.

"I can see that."

Scrunching up my face, I realize something. "You know, no more then, what, five hours ago? You were kind of being cold to me, and now, you're acting like we've been friends for a while," I point out, and her smile kind of falters before she turns around.

"It's just; I don't have any real friends, not since I kind of messed up my friendship with Ino over Sasuke-kun," She explains, and I nod my head even though she can't see it. "I'm normally shy when meeting new people, or mean, because of that, but, I, feel like I can trust you, Naruto," She says as she looks over and gives me a small smile, causing me to give her one too.

"I'm glad to hear that," I respond, and she turns around and gives me hug.

"Thanks, Naruto. I haven't had this much fun in a long time…" She says, and I chuckle.

"Well, anytime you want to hang out, just meet me at the swing after school," I say and she smiles as she pulls away.

"That sounds great!" She says, and she turns around and sighs.

"Well, here we are, my house," She says, turning around and smiling.

"See you tomorrow, Naruto." She says, before heading towards her door, before her dad opens it, and I'm frozen.

_H-he's, Sakura-chan's father... _Was my last thought before I black out…

* * *

(7 Years after Naruto's birth)

_Why? Why me? What did I do to them? _I cry in my head as I run from the pursuing Jounin, three of them, I think.

Taking a left and not paying attention, I can only whimper as I run into a dead end, and curl up into a ball as I prepare for the beating that ensues.

"Leave this boy alone," I hear all of a sudden, and I look up to find a black-haired man with his back to me. He was fairly tall, and he was wearing a Jounin flack jacket, causing me to look at him in confusion. No one besides Jii-chan had defended me before.

I was too much in a daze to really listen to the conversation, all I know is that he's defending me, and before long, it's three on one. I could only stare on in disbelief as this person FOUGHT for me!

That's when I noticed one of the other Jounin standing back, preparing a whole bunch of weapons, and he throws them, at me. And I'm too afraid to move, before my very eyes, the same man that defended me takes them all, before falling on his knees.

"Are you okay!?" I yell as I run up to him, completely forgetting about the three Jounin, who, realizing that they've just attack one of their own ninja, run for it. He was covered with a huge amount of weapons, but, he was smiling at me, and I notice he has very deep, rare green eyes.

"You okay, Naruto-kun?" He asks, and I can barely give him a nod before his eyes close and he falls backwards. Panicking, I start to shake him, not understanding what's happening, and why he wasn't waking up.

"Wake up! Why won't you wake up?" I cry, tears streaming from my eyes as he doesn't even move, and he starts to turn pale and cold.

"No, don't leave me, what if they come back, I don't want to get hurt again," I say, not realizing that there was someone behind me, before he speaks.

"He's dead, Naruto," Jii-chan says as I look over my shoulder and give him a confused look.

"Dead?"

"He's not going to wake up, ever; he sacrificed his life, to save you, Naruto…" He explains, and tears start to well in my eyes even more as it dawns on me.

"H-he died for me…" I whisper, and I burst out crying, not caring if anyone saw.

"WHY!? WHAT DID I DO FOR HIM!?" I yell, and I feel Jii-chan's hand on my shoulder.

"He did it, because he believed that you were a hero, Naruto, just like I do," He says, and I look at me, tears still streaming.

"Hero?" I ask, and I feel a sudden anger boil inside of me at the thought of ME, being a hero.

"I'M NO HERO! ALL I DO IS HURT PEOPLE! EVERYBODY AROUND ME HATES ME, OR SAYS I'VE TAKEN THEIR FAMILY! HOW CAN A DEMON LIKE ME BE A HERO!?" I yell, and I see the look of sorrow on his face at my words. Turning back to the man on the ground, I start to scream at him.

"WHY DID YOU DEFEND ME? I'M A DEMON; I DON'T DESERVE TO BE SAVED!" I continue to yell, the anger at the villagers, the anger at myself, and the anger at everything bad just coming out now as self-loathing.

"WWWWWHHYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?" I let out in a long, sorrowful scream.

* * *

"WWWWWHHHHHYYYYYY!?" I scream as I sit up abruptly, sweat covering my body.

"Calm down Naruto! It was just a dream!" I hear Sakura-chan exclaim, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me a little, causing me to realize I'm not in my apartment.

Lying back down, I grab my head as a slight headache starts to bother me.

"Is this you're house, Sakura-chan?" I ask, looking at her and watching her nod, before she looks over her shoulder.

"Dad, could you bring something warm to drink for Naruto?" She ask, and I hear a yeah from the kitchen. A moment later, the man from my dreams, apparently Makoto walks into the room with a mug in his hand, and a smile on his face.

"Here, drink this Naruto-kun, it'll make you feel better," He says as I sit up straight and accept the mug with a bow of my head before taking a long swallow.

"Were you having a nightmare Naruto? You kept rolling and mumbling in your sleep…" Sakura-chan asks a look of concern on her face.

"Yeah, something like that…" I mumble, staring at Makoto, causing him to chuckle nervously.

"Thanks…" I say, and his smile grows a little bigger.

"No problem Naruto-kun, when you just suddenly fainted, Sakura kind of freaked out," He explains, and I look at Sakura-chan to see her looking away and blushing a little.

Sighing, I look down and into the hot chocolate, the memories flashing through my mind.

_This man, he saved me all that time ago, and because of me, Sakura-chan was left fatherless…_

**Don't think like that kit, he did it because he thought it was the right thing, doubting one's will is very disrespectful Naruto.**

_I know Kyu-kun, I know, it's just, I'm surprised that he's Sakura-chan's father is all…_

"So, this nightmare, mind telling us what it was about?" Makoto all of a sudden asks, catching me off guard and causing me to chuckle nervously myself.

"Just, a normal bad dream is all, I have them all the time," I explain, and I could see that he wasn't pleased by that answer.

"It couldn't have just been a normal nightmare, Naruto, you woke up screaming with a look of, what I could only call, pure sorrow on you're face," Sakura-chan reasons, giving me that look that tells me she knows I'm lying.

"Don't worry, it was nothing, it's over now, and done with, so lets forget about it," I say, trying to avoid talking about the subject, and I could see from the look on Sakura-chan's face that she wanted to keep prying, but Makoto stopped her.

"Well, if you don't want to talk about it, that's your business, but I'm sure Sakura and I are ready and willing to listen to what you have to say at anytime, Naruto-kun," He says, giving me a fatherly smile, and I can't help but grin back. Finishing my hot chocolate, I stand up and stretch.

"Well, I better get going, it's going to be dark soon, and I need to get going," I say, and Sakura-chan stands up too, glaring at me.

"NO way, Naruto," She says, her dad and I giving her a strange look. "You live alone, right? And you probably don't eat healthily, right?" She asks, and I nod, dumbfounded at her attitude.

"Then you're staying here." She says, and her father and I once again, just gap at her.

"We have an extra room, my dad always cooks a nutritious dinner and breakfast, and it's just not right for a nine year old to be living by himself," She says with conviction, leaving me with very little too say.

"But don't you need you're father's permission?" I ask, too surprised by this turn of events to do anything else.

"I wouldn't mind at all, actually," He says all of a sudden, giving me a smile.

I could only stand their, dumbfounded.

"Then it's been decided! You'll be living with us from here on!" Sakura-chan proclaims with an air of victory about her.

Sighing, I resign to just letting it happen, realizing that Sakura-chan was too stubborn to argue with.

"Well, I still need to get my stuff…" I say, and Sakura-chan is already at the door, smiling.

"Then let's go get your stuff!" She says, causing me to laugh before walking to the door myself.

"I guess we'll be back in an hour, and sorry for any inconvenience," I apologize, kind of, before he gives me a smile and waves us off.

As we're walking to my place, it was kind of hard to miss the awkward silence. Neither of us wanted to talk, and I couldn't understand that on Sakura-chan's part.

"Just to let you know, this doesn't mean I like you!" She blurts out all of a sudden, and I dawns on me, making me chuckle.

"I know, I know, you like Sasuke," I amend for her, and she smiles before giving me a nod, walking backwards again.

"You know, one of these times you're going to bump into something," I say offhandedly and she giggles.

"That's why you're not walking backwards, to keep me from bumping something," She explains, and I just shake my head.

"Hm, this is taking too long," I mumble to myself, and stop, Sakura-chan noticing and stopping too.

"What was that, Naruto?" She asks, not mad or anything, just curious.

"I said this was taking too long, a few of the more rowdy, and drunk, villagers come out about now, so we need to get there quickly," I explain, and she gets a worried look on her face at the prospect.

"So, to get there quickly, you need to hold on to me," I explain, and she looks a little surprised at that, before blushing and walking over and wrapping her arms around my mid section, see as I'm taller then her this time around, thank god.

Considering how far my place was, I concentrate quite a bit of chakra before using the Shunshin, reaching my house in a matter of seconds.

"You can let go now, Sakura-chan," I say, and she's already scrambling away, most likely in embarrassment.

"So, what do I need to bring?" I ask, and she shakes her head before saying I just need the necessities, clothes, bed sheets, pjs, and maybe anything else I had of value.

"Simple enough…" I mutter, before making, most likely, my most used seal, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (_Shadow Clone Technique_)!" I call, and I see Sakura-chan's jaw drop to the floor.

"K-kage Bunshin!?" She asks, dumbfounded, and I chuckle.

"Yeah, it's actually not that hard for me, the real challenge is still the Bunshin no Jutsu (_Clone Technique_), I have WAY TOO much chakra to do it correctly, even with my really good chakra control," I explain as she can just gap at the Kage Bunshin running around the house gathering my stuff and sealing them in scrolls.

"B-but this is a B-rank technique, this shouldn't even be possible for an academy student!" She exclaims, and I chuckle.

"Well, I'm no ordinary academy student, am I?" I ask, and she gaps at me, before the clones come to me, each giving me a scroll, before dispersing themselves.

"But you have to keep this a secret, you can't let anybody know that I know this, otherwise I'd just be in more trouble from the villagers," I say, and that knocks her out of her revere.

"Why," She starts, and I turn around to look at her, "Do the villagers hate you?" She asks, and I flinch, expecting this question.

"Lets just say, that their blind to the truth," I respond, and she kind of glares at me.

"And I plan to save them from it, and from anything else" I add, and she looks like she's just been slapped.

"Save them? Even though they hate you, you want to save them?" She asks, and I chuckle.

"Everybody needs a savior now and then, even if they don't realize it," I hand out this sage advice, giving her my old grin. Watching her reaction, I can only grin a little wider when she returns my grin with a smile.

"Well, we should get going back," I say, before I notice a shadow in the corner, and I'm in between the shadow and Sakura-chan in a defensive stance in an instant.

"Don't worry, Naruto," It says as Itachi-nii steps out of the shadow with his crow ANBU mask on.

"Don't scare me like that Itachi-nii, I thought you were a threat," I say, loosening my guard, and hearing Sakura-chan let out a breath behind me.

"Sorry, but I was just wondering where you were going with all your stuff…" He trails off, and I can just feel the curious glance his giving me from behind that mask.

"Eh heh heh, Sakura-chan's forcing me to live her and her father…" I explain, and the confusion comes off him in waves.

"Forcing you?" He asks, and I chuckle.

"Not really much choice in the matter when Sakura-chan's made up her mind, she's kind of stubborn," I explain, and I feel the smack to the back of my head.

"Ah, well, if you're moving to different living conditions, I'm pretty sure we should inform the Hokage," Itachi-nii says, and I give him a grin.

"I know, but let me drop my stuff off at Sakura-chan's first," I explain, and he nods before disappearing in a flash of leaves. A moment later, I feel Sakura-chan wrap her arms around my torso again, and smile a little before using the Shunshin to appear in front of her house, before handing her the scrolls.

"Drop this off in my room, I need to go with Itachi-nii to tell Ojii-sama," I say, before disappearing and appearing in Ojii-sama's room, Itachi-nii already there.

"Itachi was just informing me off your new living conditions," Jii-sama says, that same smile on his face, and I chuckle.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan kind of forced me to," I explain, walking up to his desk, rubbing the back of my head.

"Well, I have no problem with it, as long as her father doesn't mind either," He says, and I give him a grin.

"He's already said yes," I say, and he nods, before waving Itachi-nii off.

"You know who he is, right?" He asks, and I flinch a little.

"Yeah, I remember," I respond, looking anywhere but at him.

"When that happened, I almost thought you had cracked, you were quiet for the entire academy year, but you started to become your old self again, so I was happy. How is this going to affect you? Living with the first person you saw die…" He asks, and I take a deep breath.

"I don't thin it'll affect me all that much, he's alive now, and now I can repay him…" I say, and Ojii-sama gives me a nod, before sighing.

"Okay then, but I'm sure he wouldn't want you to repay him, if he'd remembered," He says, and I nod before getting out of there, and back to Sakura-chan's house, and knocking on the door.

"You know, you don't have to knock, this is now also your house too," Makoto says as he answers the door, and I grin.

"Sorry, kind of an old habit, knocking at other people's houses," I say, walking in after him and closing the door.

"Well, I take it you got permission? Seeing as how a whole squad of ANBU just perched themselves outside," He says, and I chuckle.

"You noticed, eh? I used to get a lot of beatings, sometimes still do, but they slowed it from a daily thing to a monthly thing," I explain, sitting down on the couch and letting my head rest over the back of it, closing my eyes.

"Sakura's taking a shower, so I wouldn't suggest going in there unless you want to be beaten to death," He says, uncomfortable with the current subject, with a nervous chuckle, and I laugh too, knowing that's pretty much how it would turn out. A moment later, and I hear something flying through the air and I catch it, lifting my head and looking at the key in my hand.

"Just in case you're ever locked out of the house," He explains with a smile, and I smile in return.

"Hey, dad, Naruto back ye-," She says, walking out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel wrapped around her, causing her to blush before running back in the bathroom.

"She's not used to other guys being over," He explains, and I laugh, before stretching my neck and standing.

"I'm going upstairs to my room, Sakura-chan, so you can come out in a minute," I yell loud enough for her to hear, and I hear a small okay in response.

Heading up the stairs, I go the door that was slightly ajar, and peek in and see it's my new room, just a plain sky blue wall and a single window, making me smile as I enter and close the door behind me.

Taking my time to unseal and set up everything in the room, I can only grin as the once plain room was now transformed into my own little haven.

"Nice," I hear behind me, and turn around to see Sakura-chan leaning on the door frame and smiling at the set up.

"Thanks, just a bunch of stuff I like," I say, and she rolls her eyes at the obvious.

"Well, I'm heading off to bed, just to let you know, and I always take a shower in the morning, so enter at your own risk," She says with a small grin, and I chuckle nervously before she goes into the room across the hall.

"Night, Naruto," She says, before closing the door behind her.

Closing my own door, and lying on my shuriken printed bed sheets, I can only let out a sigh.

"This'll be interesting…"

_**Review, and whatnot...**_

_**Now, I hope this chapter was realistic (As realistic as it can get, seeing as it's Naruto AND fanfiction), and that it didn't disappoint. This chapter was more aimed at the emotional aspect of Sakura and Naruto, at least, I hope that's how it comes across. I just pray to god this chapter wasn't horrible, because I myself haven't had any experience when it comes to these kind of things, and I just had to go on what I THOUGHT, would happen in these kinds of situations, at the appropriate ages. If it comes across as stupid, or unrealistic, that's probably because I have a very twisted since of reality, or mentality. For those of you who enjoyed this, thank you! That's really all there is to say, I guess.**_

_**Thank you, those of you who decided to review. And thank you those of you who give me constructive criticism. And thank you those of you who just read! **_


	3. Dangerous Circumstances

_**The Kyuubi's Gift: Second Coming**_

_**OMG! I FINALLY DID IT! I FINALLY PUSHED AWAY THE WRITER'S BLOCK TO FINISH THIS CHAPTER! AND HOPEFULLY MUCH MORE TO COME! YES! I THINK I'M BACK!**_

_**Without further ado...  
**_

_**Chapter III**_

_**Dangerous Circumstances**_

I can only chuckle as the six figures before me let out an aura of amusement. It almost seemed like I had been fighting them for hours, in this dark place. Clutching my stomach and falling to my knees, I cough out a gout of blood, frowning.

"Are you giving up, Naruto-kun?" One of the eerie voices calls, and I can only growl as I straighten myself.

"Please, you wish," And with that, I'm charging them again, kunai drawn and clones right behind me. Rushing straight into their ranks, I duck low to the ground and do a full 360 sweep with my foot, catching three and launching them into the air. In an instant, the three clones are grabbing them and throwing them away from the group. Rising quickly to my feet, I jump to avoid a leg sweep of theirs, bringing the kunai down on their skull, hopefully dispatching the odd shadowy figure. Back flipping over another attempt to kick me, I grab another kunai and slit this ones throat. I grab my ribs in pain as a kick to the chest sends me flying from them. As I'm flying through the air, my clones release, informing me that they were able to kill at least two of the three.

Two more left. Landing on my feet, my head snaps up barely in time to get a good kick, sending me into the air, ignoring the pain for now, I charge a Rasengan (_Spiraling Sphere_), flipping in air to face the ground, just in time to see his follow up. Smirking, I direct my body so that it's pointing towards him in a way, and start to build chakra into my feet. After getting it to the right density and mass, I launch myself with what could only be described as a double jump right towards the one jumping for me. Slamming the Rasengan into his get, he's sent flying as the last one just waits in the middle of his fallen comrades.

A clapping rings out as the voice begins to speak, "Very good, very good, it's obviously your determination which interests her," Then suddenly the back ground is replaced by a blinding white, causing my eyes to suffer as I cannot see anything.

"In two years time, when you have become a Gennin, head to the Shrine of Oblivion's Past, there, you'll find your gift," And with that, my stomach starts to churn like there's a kunai inside me, and I clutch my stomach again.

"Time to wake up Naruto," A voice calls, indistinguishable.

"Wake up Naruto!" Again, more feminine, familiar.

"WAKE UP!" Sakura yells, causing me to bolt up in my bed. Glaring at me, she throws my clothes at my head, and she leaves the room.

"Hurry up and get ready!" She calls over her shoulder. Mumbling, I slip into downstairs and into the bathroom.

Slipping into a warm shower; I feel my tense muscles relax at the mini-message.

"Damn, too many weird dreams lately," I mutter to myself, soaking my hair before lathering it with shampoo.

It had been awkward at first, living under the same roof with Makoto and Sakura-chan. The tension between Sakura-chan and I had been thick at first, enough so that you could cut it with a dull kunai. The camaraderie the previous night dwindled, although Sakura-chan never once took back what she said. Eventually, the tension started to fade, and six months into my new living arrangements, it had disappeared completely.

I was hoping at first that living under the same roof like siblings would turn my feelings towards her into such. It hadn't. It had made my previous feelings all that much stronger for her, seeing this kind side of her, which was rare in my previous life, out so freely. It's not that I didn't know Sakura-chan, by no means was that true, we were the closest friends anybody had seen before, and many commented that we knew each other better than spouses. However, this innocent, kind Sakura-chan, was so different from my Sakura-chan, and at the same time so similar, like if she had never become a ninja, which, technically she hadn't. This Sakura-chan as a citizen, I realized, and not as a ninja. This only reinforced my feelings, and I somehow fell for her again.

However, she did not think of me in such light, and I know it. That was reserved for Sasuke, and I am fine with that. As long as she is happy, I don't care who she ends up with.

As for Makoto and I had, it had been kind of odd, having a father, so to speak. He treated me with something similar to how Iruka and Jiraiya had, and it felt like I truly had a father, and it was a happy feeling that I didn't want to lose again. After a while, I don't know when, I had even start to call him such. Otou-kun, I called him. And it felt right…

However, about a month after I moved in, Sakura denied to live in the same house with someone who wore such socially obstructive clothes. So she took me shopping with some money her father gave her. Let's just say, it was a very long day for me, but I now wear something more "Socially acceptable," in Sakura-chan's words.

Throwing the clothes on I look at my new outfit for about the billionth time in eleven months. Navy blue cargo pants that were made for ninja, because of their free movement, an orange muscle shirt to "show off those muscles you hide under that hideous jumpsuit," and an olive green sleeveless jacket that must always remain open according to Sakura-chan's decree, as well as a pair of fingerless gloves. And my own personal touch, a black headband to keep my hair out.

Walking out of the bathroom, I catch the pack thrown to me by Sakura-chan as she's waiting at the door.

"C'mon slowpoke, we'll be late to school if we don't hurry," She says, opening the door as we both exit, and locking it after we're both out.

There was silence for most of the way as we headed to school. It was that kind of silence which is involuntary, but not necessarily awkward. That is, until an idea sparks in my brain, and I turn on my heels, walking backwards to face Sakura-chan.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, you're a nerd, have you ever heard of the Shrine of Oblivion's Past?" I ask, casually teasing her as she glares at me for the nerd comment.

She sighs as she closes her eyes for a moment, "Shrine of Oblivion's Past, sounds familiar, but I don't know a lot about it, just that there's a sect of monks that live there and pray to the temple, or what's inside it I guess," She answers, shrugging as my shoulders droop a little.

"Think I'll ask Iruka-sensei about it then," I respond, seeing her eyebrow raise.

"Why are you interested in that all of a sudden? It's not like you," She says offhandedly, our school appearing in the distance.

"Eh, what can I say, I want to learn today," I say, giving her a grin before dashing for the school, hearing her sprint after me. Making it to the front doors, I throw them open, only for Sakura-chan to pass me. I can only smirk as she starts backpedaling, sticking her tongue at me, when she runs into a group of kids. Walking past her calmly, I enter the class room, giving her a grin as she frowns a little.

"I win," I state, making my way over to my desk in the corner, next to Shikamaru. She composes herself and makes her way in, giving me a little glare. All in good taste though.

"Geez, you two act like a couple, I swear," Shikamaru mumbles as I sit down, and I roll my eyes, bobbing him upside the head.

"We're just friends," I defend, watching him rub the back of his head. "We still on for tomorrow?" I ask.

"So troublesome," I hear him mutter under his breath, "Yes, I'm free. You're pretty insistent this week," He mumbles, and I nod my head a little. This was the week I'm planning on giving him his memories back.

Before I can offer an excuse, I'm saved by Iruka-sensei coming in and starting class. After he had calmed the entire class down, I raise my hand before the lecture even begins, surprising him.

"Um, yes Naruto?" He asks, seemingly nervous with my actually participation, probably expecting me to pull a prank.

"Can we learn about the Shrine of Oblivion's Past?" I ask, and most of the rest of the class look at me skeptically, while Iruka-sensei looks slightly taken aback. He blinks a few times, a look of contemplation on his face as he thinks about it.

"Hm, is anyone else interested?" He asks suddenly, and a few of the kids raise their hands, curiosity piqued.

Sighing, he goes over to his desk, and pulls out a fairly large scroll, before opening it and pinning it to the whiteboard to reveal it as a large map of the Fire Country. Pointing to mountainous corner, he touches the map, and while many don't notice it, I see him pump some chakra into the parcel, revealing a few hidden locations on the map, including one in the mountainous region.

"The Shrine of Oblivion's Past is secluded labyrinth like shrine in the mountains to the northwest of Konoha. Only those who are Konoha-nin even know it exists. It is guarded by a sect of monks who believe that an ancient weapon resides in the center of the shrine. The weapon supposedly belonged to a legendary sword mistress in the time of the gods, and she was credited with ending the lives of the gods with this weapon. Some scholars speculate that the Sage of Six Paths is her descendent," He starts his lecture, his face a mask of seriousness. He pauses for a moment, and Sakura-chan takes this chance to raise her hand. He nods for her to ask away.

"The time of the gods? That's before the ninja were born, right?" She asks, and Iruka-sensei nods.

"Very good Sakura, that is why most people speculate that she is the ancestor of the Sage of Six Paths, as she was, according to the monks, able to manipulate the five elements of fire, water, earth, wind and lightning. If this is true, then it is very possible that it's not just speculation. However, it can't be proven, or disproved for that matter," Next it was my turn.

"You say that she was credited with killing gods. But if their gods, aren't they supposedly immortal?"

He smirks a little, noticing that I caught that, "Yes, according to the monks, she was born a hymn, a being composed of natural energy, the life force the planet, taking shape, so in essence, she was almost a god herself, being one with the planet. However, even that isn't enough to justify being a Godslayer, as the monks say her weapon, the weapon in the shrine, had the ability to slay the invincible immortals. However, that leads back to the monks and the weapon in the shrine. While the monks guard the shrine, they only dictate whether or not someone can enter the shrine and try to retrieve the weapon," Iruka-sensei lectures, letting Sasuke talk when he raised his hand.

"How many people have tried to retrieve it?" He asks, and a sad smile passes over Iruka-sensei's features.

"Dozens have tired, and all are brought back to the village by the monks, dead or worse. The entire shrine is laid with traps and dangerous monsters. Rumors have it that ancient beings from the time of the gods reside in the labyrinth, which no ninja is prepared to deal with. The body later turns up outside the shrine by some mysterious force. Many die, others go insane and kill themselves, and some lose their memories, or forget their skills. Which is the only reason I'm telling you all this. It's a warning, stay away from that place, I don't want any of that happening to any of you," He warns, his eyes showing his concern.

Taking a deep breath, I venture for another question, "Iruka-sensei, that trick you did with the map, is it that way for all the maps made in Konoha?" I ask, and he glances at me worriedly, but nods.

"But also don't forget, that the weapon is also said to bring unimaginable power to the bearer, enough power to even overwhelm the Kyuubi no Youkou possibly, they say," Adds the treacherous snake Mizuki, and I have to resist a scowl from appearing on my face.

All of a sudden he turns to me, "You're required at the Hokage's office, you'd better get their pretty quick," Is all he needs to say before I'm dashing out of the door, pushing him aside. Once outside, I use shunshin (_Body Flicker_) to appear outside the Hokage's Tower, and enter, taking the stairs three at a time. Once at the top floor, I halt in front of the door to catch my breath. A moment later, I enter, to see Itachi-nii, Kaka-sensei, Super Busy Brow-sensei, and Hiashi-sensei talking to Sarutobi.

"Ah, Naruto, just in time," Sarutobi says with a smile, the other turning and giving me a nod.

"For what?" I ask almost skeptically.

"This is the last week we're your sensei, after next Friday, we go back to our usual duties," Kaka-sensei answers for him, causing me to frown a bit.

"Which is why you're being taken out of school for the rest of the day and week, these four suggested it; they want to teach you one final technique, all of them," Sarutobi continues, and I my head rears back in surprise.

"Wow, really? Out of school for an entire week? Um, can I have tomorrow at two off? I have a schedule that I need to keep," I say, and the four of them seem reluctant at first, but after Itachi-nii agrees, the others follow suit.

"It's fine with us, but that's less time for you to learn our techniques," Hiashi-sensei states, before heading for the door, signaling the others following. As the others leave, Kaka-sensei turns to me and says.

"Coming?" I'm on their heels a moment later, leaving Sarutobi to his thoughts. To my surprise, we start to jump up the Hokage monument, the village growing smaller and smaller below us, as I try my hardest to keep up.

_These guys are pretty fast,_ I think to myself, right on their trail anyways. After we make it to the top of the monument, we continue towards the forest right behind it. After a few minutes of jumping from tree to tree, we land in a clearing, a small camp already set up.

"This is where we'll be stay for the next week, okay, otouto," Itachi-nii says as I land right in front of him.

Slightly winded, I nod my head. Leaning against the tree for a moment, it's interrupted as Hiashi-sensei calls for me in the center of the clearing. Making my way towards him, I see the others moving towards the outer side of the clearing.

As I approach the center of the clearing, Hiashi-sensei is there and waiting. Standing opposite of him, he bows, and I follow suit. Rising back to full height, we both slip into the Jyuuken.

_So, it's a test first, eh? _I think to myself, activating my Zekkougan (_Perfect Eye_), and charging at him. The first strike is always the most simple with the Jyuuken, as I thrust my palm forward, only to have it deflected by his own. Standing my ground, I try for a finger jab towards his ribs, only to have him lean back that centimeter at the last moment to have it miss target and he's sending his own towards my jaw. Leaning back a decimal, I turn my hand over from the previous jab and hit him in the chest with a palm, forcing him away from me, a completely defensive move. All this happened in less than three seconds

I see Hiashi-sensei smirk in approval, before he goes on the offensive this time, three quick strikes followed by a palm. Deflecting the first three, I pivot on my left foot, sliding past his palm and getting past his defensive to attack from the behind. As I try to strike him from behind, I'm sent spiraling by Hakkeshou Kaiten (_Eight Trigrams Heavenly Spin_).

Landing on my feet rather then my back, I see Hiashi-sensei still prepared for another round. Biting the inside of my cheek a little, I give him a cocky grin as I bring my right palm back, before thrusting it towards, smirking as I release a wave of chakra towards him.

Utterly caught off guard by the technique, it lands, sending him clear across the grounds. As he gets up from the ground, my palm is right above his chest, and he's slightly smiling.

"Very good Naruto, but I never taught you the Hakke Kuushou (_Eight Trigrams Empty Palm_)," He says, accepting my helping hand, the spar over the moment my hand was over his chest.

"Well, I've learned that you can apply that charge and release ability Tsunade uses to almost everything," I explain with a grin, and he nods in approval.

"All I really wanted to see was how well versed in the Jyuuken you were before teaching you the Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou (_Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms_)," He explains, and my head rears back.

"Are you sure you want to give me one of the Hyuuga's most secret techniques?" I ask, and he looks at me with a slight smile again, something happening more often apparently.

"Naruto, you've proven that even the Byakugan can be blind to the truth…"

(_Three years Prior_)

_Naruto panted as he fell to his knee, Hiashi standing in front of him, a small scowl appearing on his face. Forcing himself to his feet, Naruto once again charged, assaulting the Hyuuga clan head. Once again, with little effort, Hiashi knocked the child back._

"_Naruto, just give up," Hiashi says coolly, glaring the boy down as he once again stands up._

"_Not in my vocabulary, or ninja way, sorry," The boy says with a smirk, confusing the sensei._

_Sighing, Hiashi slips out of his stance, and holds his hand up for Naruto to stop, "There, we're taking a break."_

_Walking towards the tree with the backpacks under it, Hiashi takes out a bento box and hands it to Naruto, before taking one for himself._

"_If only my daughter was more like you," He found himself whispering, only to have the boy's glare all of a sudden directed towards him._

"_You're too hard on Hinata-chan," The boy says coldly, causing Hiashi's brows to furrow._

"_I have to be hard on her, for the rest of the clan," He defends, and the boy's glare hardens._

"_For the clan? Fuck the clan!" Naruto says abruptly, catching the adult off guard once again, "She's your daughter for heaven's sake! You can't be so hard on her! She has a lot of potential; all she needs is the _right _motivation!" He spits out, this being a completely different side of Naruto then he'd ever seen in the past year._

"_Now listen here you child! You know nothing of the Hyuuga cla-,"_

"_I know enough to know that it's corrupt! That the Branch Family is forced to wear the Caged Bird Seal! That Neji Hyuuga is a prodigy even at his young age!" He boy almost yells, his voice rising, and Hiashi could see his pupils becoming slits. _

"_I also know that Hinata-chan needs support! She doesn't need her father, who she looks up to, to put her down to motivate her! She doesn't work that way! She needs to be encouraged, not that bullshit of an excuse you call motivation! She has no confidence because you're constantly telling her that she's not good enough!" He yells, finally standing._

_Hiashi tried to say something, but all he could do was open his mouth, but nothing came out. Was Naruto right? Hiashi had never really been fond of the Branch Family arrangement either, as it made his brother and him distant. He had also noticed the boy's potential, Neji's that is. A question cropped in the back of his mind as to how Naruto knew this, but he ignored it for now._

_Naruto couldn't help himself, for some reason, when he heard that, he just snapped. He knew the most probable reason though. Hinata had almost died trying to save him from Pain, and for some reason, it upset him to hear her insulted in such an indirect way._

"_You're the head of the clan, you make the decisions. I'm not saying abolish the Branch Family just like that, the elders would just null it. But you can't be blind to the growing rift between the houses, can you?" He asks, suddenly reigning in his anger, but his intense stare still focused on Hiashi. The most he could reply was a slight nod. Who knew such a young child could make an age old tradition seem so obsolete?_

"_If you wait too long to try and repair, it might be too late, especially with your brother," Naruto sighed, finally resting his gaze to the grass. It was silent for a few minutes, an awkward silence, which bothered both of them._

"_Look, I know I shouldn't butt into such matters, but," Hiashi raised his hand to silence him. _

"_That's enough Naruto, training is over for the day," He said, his mind lost somewhere in Naruto's words. Was it true? Was there an irreparable rift growing between the houses? He needed to think about it, and before Naruto could say another word, Hiashi disappeared. _

_(End Flashback)_

I knew instantly what he was talking about, and smiled sheepishly. I had noticed that Hinata-chan's confidence rose soon after that talk.

"Okay Naruto, you won't be able to learn this technique so easy as looking at it with the Zekkougan. As you should well know by now, everybody's tenketsu are different, if only slight, as it is also affected by height, and build. The first and possible most important step is getting them within the hakke, from there, the rest is easy," He explains, getting into the Jyuuken stance.

"If you would," I nod my head and create a kage bunshin (_Shadow Clone_) which then stands a few feet from him, his own Zekkougan activated. Hiashi-sensei nods, and crouches low, feet spread, as well as hands, and with the Zekkougan I see the faint outline of an actually hakke.

_Wow, when they said hakke, I didn't know that one actually appeared, but it must require a doujutsu (_Eye Technique_) to see, _I reason to myself, as my clone within the hakke, and he's already being pummeled with strikes to it's tenketsu, and Hiashi-sensei finishes with a 'Rokujuuyon shou!'

He nods at me as I create another clone, and inform it to stand not too far from me. Getting into the same stance as Hiashi-sensei, I begin to form the hakke in my mind, picturing it spreading along the ground from my feet, and willing it to happen. Opening my eyes, I notice that my hakke is pathetic, not even reaching a meter in diameter.

Sighing, I see Hiashi-sensei smile, "You didn't even let me explain how to create the hakke, but it seems you have the basic idea," He says, and I give him a sheepish smile.

"Any advice you have for me?" I ask him, and he nods.

"I think you were doing it right, imagining the hakke spreading from your center, but you can't force it, and you have to let the hakke come out on its own, feel it spread beneath your feet. As well, don't try to make the hakke any bigger by adding chakra, it won't work unless you're going for a different technique, like the Hakke Hyaku Nijuuhachi Shou (_Eight Trigrams One-Hundred Twenty Eight Palm_), that's for more advanced, and would require long training," He advises, and I nod my head, trying again.

* * *

Twelve hours later, I can feel the endless training starting to take its toll on my body as Kakashi-sensei and the others continue to watch. Grunting in frustration, I take a deep breath, remembering what Jiraiya taught me about meditation. Opening my eyes with renewed determination, I quickly construct the hakke in my mind, and let it start to flow from my center, doing this with my eyes open and in under a second. I grin with success as the hakke flows correctly, and at its right size, as the now whistling bunshin is bombarded with my precise, insanely quick strikes, muttering to myself, keeping track of how many tenketsu I've blocked.

"Rokujuuyon shou!" I shout, palming it in the chest, sending it into a tree which it billows into smoke against, and the force of training catches up with me as I fall to one knee, Itachi-nii at my side in an instant.

"Naruto, you passed your limit long ago, I'm surprised you're not in a coma," Itachi-nii says, lifting one of my arms over his shoulders, and hoisting me up before help dragging me to my tent.

"Yeah Naruto, I'm surprised as well, you need some rest, no matter what you say, hell, you probably shouldn't even train tomorrow," Kaka-sensei adds, his book in his kunai pouch, his full attention on me, including his Sharingan as he looks over my status.

"Oh, don't worry too much," I say weakly, giving those two my grin as the lay me down in my tent. They stand up and Itachi-nii glances at Kaka-sensei, and he shakes his head.

"Well, regardless, you're too tired to move, and we're not gonna let you move, you're not coming out of this tent until tomorrow morning," Itachi-nii says with an air of finality. Sighing, I have to agree as I see the darkness of unconsciousness starting to claim the edge of my vision.

* * *

"**Naruto! We need to talk!"**Kyuu-kun's voice caused the cell to shake, and I loose footing for a moment.

"What's wrong?" The words are immediate to Kyuu-kun's voice.

"**It's… About the onnen chakra…"**Now I was really worried; he sounded… almost pitiful.

"What about it?" I could feel Kyuu-kun fidgeting.

"**It's… acidic…"**

"Acidic? You're not making very much sense Kyuu-kun…" Unless he meant to my chakra co…

"**It's eating away at your chakra coils**_**…"**_ Oh…

"Wha… why are you just now noticing this?" I have to keep a cool head about this.

"**It's, been gradual, like when you don't notice someone's gotten bigger because you hang around them all the time? Same concept, but I didn't notice it getting smaller…"**His voice…

"It's okay, Kyuu-kun, I'm not going to blame you," How could I? All Kyuu-kun's been trying to do is help me, "How can we fix it? Is there a way to fix it?"

"**There is… one way…"**The reluctance in Kyuu-kun's voice surprised me.

"What's the problem then?" If it could save me, why was he so reluctant?

"**It requires drastic measures, stuff that can't be undone…"**Kyuu-kun admits, and I roll my eyes.

"Just spit it out already, it can't be that bad!" I didn't mean to yell, but geez, he was stuttering like a little school girl.

"**You'd have to become a Hanyou**_**," **_Okay, that was pretty drastic actually.

"Oh…"

"**Now you see my problem? It would cause so much more trouble for you and i-,"**

"I'll do it."

"**What?" **I could see his jaw hanging, and it made me chuckle.

"I'll do it. But the question is, how do we do it?" The immense surprise was radiating off of him in waves, and it made me smile a little.

"**Um, I can do it, just, uh, give me some time, I have to prepare and…"**My smile grew a little.

"It's alright, if I'm alive I'm fine with it, it'll give me the time I need to save everybody," He sighs, and I feel the warm breath wash over me.

"**Tonight, I should have the preparations complete, but be warned, it'll be painful…" **

"I know…" And with that, I faded from the room.

* * *

Itachi sighs as I he comes out of his tent to see me staring at the early morning sun rise. I look over my shoulder and give him a grin, and he rolls his eyes as he sees three empty cups of instant ramen.

"You're insane Otouto," He mutters as he stretches, my sensitive hearing picking up a crack here and there.

"How was your night?" I ask, the sun just now rising above the horizon.

"It was fine. Are you sure you should be up so early though?" He asks, concern leaking into his voice.

"I'm fine and you know it. Unbelievable stamina, remember?" I chuckle, and he concedes defeat, sitting next to me with another cup of instant ramen.

"You're rubbing off on me," He says, snapping his chopsticks and digging into his ramen with an 'itadakimasu.'

"Good to know!" I say, grinning, "You know, you guys never really taught me any techniques, besides Gokakyuu (_Great Fireball_)," I point out, and he laughs a little.

"I guess we never figured we had to. You seem knowledgeable enough when it comes to techniques," He answers, and I shake my head.

"Knowledgeable doesn't mean proficient. I know about the Rasengan (_Spiraling Sphere_) and how it works, but that doesn't mean I can use," I reply, and he gives me a questioning look.

"I heard in the report when you subdued Madara that you finished him off with the Rasengan, although he still escaped…" I sigh, knowing he'd know about that.

"It was an incomplete Rasengan. I tried it the next day and it didn't work. It was a spur of the moment, and the fox told me it helped," I answer, leaning back on my hands.

"What about the Yaiba no Mai (_Dance of Blades_)?"

I sigh, "Once again the fox was behind that. I supplied the chakra, if focused the attack," Truth be told, I was being completely honest. They had been flukes, and it was because of Kyuu-kun that I was able to succeed in doing them in the first place. My body, chakra and all, didn't remember how to use those techniques, so the Kyuu-kun had filled in the information gaps, but only momentarily. If I wanted to learn the Rasengan, I'd have to re-train this body to do it, and Kyuu-kun and I decided that it would give me a good excuse to meet up with Jiraiya again. I want that bond again.

"Well, okay, but today I'm teaching you the Katon: Ryuuhebien (ROUGH, rough translation here, thrown together; Dragon Serpent Flame)," My ears perk up at the news.

"Ryuuhebien? Isn't that an S-Class technique that _you _made?" I ask incredulously.

He merely smiles and responds with a nod.

I couldn't help the grin the split my face. "When do we get started?"

"Right now," With that he's jumping down the cliff face towards the top of the Hokage Monument. Wouldn't want to set the forest on fire now would we?

* * *

As I run through the seals for the sixteenth billionth time, I inhale deeply, before spewing out a slightly thick rope of fire, licked the rock wall, scorching it.

"Better Naruto, but you need to concentrate more, the fire needs to _melt _the rock," Itachi persists, and I sigh, leaning back and look at all of the scorch marks scaring the wall. Leaning my head back, I notice the sun…

_It's about…_

"Shit!" I almost yell, startling Itachi. "It's two thirty!" I yell, jumping onto the wall and start running, incredibly fast I might add, up the wall towards camp.

_Damn it! I'm late! I hope Shikamaru fell asleep…_

I land in camp no more than thirty seconds later, scaling the cliff in a hurry. Grabbing a scroll from my tent, I wave to Kakashi, Gai, and Hiashi before jumping off the cliff.

_This is gonna hurt…_ The thought runs through my head half-way down, and I begin to laugh. _Maybe I am a masochist…? _

I land with a thud, using chakra to lighten the landing. The unmistakable jar sends me to my butt in the small crater, my legs jello in the aftermath. Pushing myself up, and supporting my weight against the stone wall, I force chakra into my legs, grunting as liquid fire consumes my legs, a laugh underlying it. A few moments later, I'm running full speed for the Yondaime's head, about ten minutes away.

_Stupid Kage and their large heads… _I grin at the thought, meaning no disrespect. The jaunt to the meeting area is less than eventful, and I'm thankful to find Shikamaru unconscious on the ground, snoozing away.

_Good ol' Shikamaru…_ Just as I'm about to walk over and drop his drink on him, the image before me is replaced with another. I fall to my knees, and close my eyes in desperation, trying the to rid the image from my mind.

"Shikamaru…" Ino's voice cracks as she cradles Shikamaru's head in her lap. _I remember this… _Shikamaru reaches up with a weak hand to wipe away Ino's falling tears, a lazy smile spread across his face, Ino's face covered from view by her hair, tears falling onto Shikamaru's forehead.

"Don't go…" Broken glass. Her voice, I could feel my heart being squeezed by it. _Why? Why now... why… _I couldn't form a coherent thought, much less words as Shikamaru chuckled, blood spurting from his mouth in rivulets.

"I-I'm not…" He had an unmistakable grin on his face, and that alone almost broke me, and did Ino as she began to sob. His hand moved from her cheek to her stomach, his arm in an awkward position.

"T-there's always… Shika Jr…" Ino was visible shaking now, and there was nothing I could do. I couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't do anything… She slowly leans down and kisses Shikamaru as his eyes start to dim, and I can feel my heart trying to implode, and I clutch at my chest, trying to breathe as I feel a warm wetness cascade down my own face.

"Naruto…" Something shakes me, but it's not enough to rid the image burned into my eyes, one lover losing another. I could feel my mentality start to crack as the same scene, ran endlessly over and over in my head.

"NARUTO!" Finally, I'm pushed, and I return to the present, facing the sky, the tears still on my face. Shikamaru was standing over me, a confused, worried look in his eyes.

"Finally…" He mutters, eyes glancing over me, "What the hell was going on? You were just frozen there, when all of a sudden you started shaking and crying. What's wrong?" I sit up, taking in huge gulps of air, Shikamaru patiently waiting for an answer as I pulled myself together.

_Why? I would've figured something like this would've happened… but why now, after ten years? _

"Um, I don't know… I just… saw something I didn't want to I guess…" He was skeptical, obviously as I stood up. The same memory, only from Shikamaru's point of view flashes quickly, but I manage to find a place to sit and hold my head. _Shikamaru's memory… _

"Okay Naruto, I consider us friends, so what's the problem? And don't say nothing, cause it's not," He was irritated, and I smile a little, gesturing for him to take a seat as well.

"It'll be easier to show you…" I say, and he raises an eyebrow as I begin flipping through seals.

Finishing with the tiger seal, I whisper ever so quietly Reitensou no Jutsu (_Spirit Transmission Technique_), and place my hand on Shikamaru's shoulder as I feel his spirit leave my own, and enter him. He stiffens, and his eyes grow wide before he slumps against the stone wall.

"Naruto…" He says, cracking an eye open and his eye glancing lazily over at me. "You bastard…" There's not much to say to that. It's true. I probably brought his spirit back from a peaceful place, brought him back after he died. With Sarutobi it was different, he had been swallowed by the Shinigami, I did a favor for him.

"Thanks…" Well that wasn't what I expected…

"Really?" I ask, still clutching at my head, suppressing the memory.

"Well, better than being dead, right? Don't remember, but I get the feeling it was troublesome," All turmoil forgotten, a laugh erupted from gut threatening to burst it.

"Only you Shikamaru, only you…" He joined my laughter of a chuckle of his own.

"And you have the right to laugh Mr. Time Traveler?" He asks, and I shake my head.

"Maybe not, but you're the only one I know who'd say that the afterlife is troublesome," I retort, and he gives me a look that says he's skeptical.

"Huh-uh, and who's the one who refused to die to save everybody? You seem to think the afterlife is troublesome too," My smile turns to a smirk, and I shake my head.

"Maybe you're right…" The jovial air turns sour as silence consumes us.

"When was Shika Jr. born?" He asks suddenly asks, and I flinch, and try to change the subject.

"Was that really gonna be his name?" I ask, plastering on a fake smile. He's glare tells me that he's not buying.

"No, but you answered the question anyways…" I lower my head, my peripheral vision seeing Shikamaru's jaw tense.

"She died three months after you did, at the end of the second trimester. She was captured and killed when she was on a mission to the wave," He lets out a breathy sigh.

"I'm glad…" He head shoots up, and his gaze is distant and unfocused, "I'm glad you've given us all a second chance, the ability to change the future…" His eyes focus on me and a smirk reaches his face.

"Even if it is troublesome…" I finish for him.

* * *

"Ah, Naruto there you are. I was wondering where you ran off too," Itachi says as I enter the camping area, lost in thought.

"Yeah, just had a long conversation with Shikamaru," I answer, sitting on the other side of the fire.

"Shikamaru's the genius, right?" He asks, rising on eyebrow.

"Yep, and don't forget lazy too!" I say, grinning, questioning look still plastered on his face.

**Naruto, say you need to go out and meditate, I'm ready…** **Hurry, I won't be able to help if Kakashi comes…** I'm about to ask when he gives me a headache from nowhere.

"I have to go meditate Itachi-nii, I'll be back later, 'kay?" he just shrugs and nods his head as I stand up and rush off towards who knows where. I'm running for about forty minutes straight before I hear Kyuu-kun tell me to stop.

**Okay, next, I need you to enter your mind. BUT, you need to leave your body in a state of perfect harmony with the earth. Similar to activation of Senjutsu **_**(**__Sage Technique_**), without taking in the natural energy; no questions, just do it. **I furrow my brows, but this is Kyuu-kun's show, not mine, so I do as he insists, taking a meditative pose, slowing my breath as Fukasaku once taught me, keeping still; essentially dying as Gamakichi put it, and becoming one with my surrounds. It was a surreal, to feel at one with nature once more. It was peaceful…

Suddenly, with a tug, I'm inside of my mind, Kyuubi no longer caged, standing in what seemed to be a giant forest that towered over the great fox.

"**Perfect Naruto!" **The fox voices booms, stretching and causing the ground to shake.

"What the…?" I look around, not familiar with this.

"**This is your mindscape, or more specifically, your state of mind when one with nature. This is the only way to become a Hanyou," **It's almost kind of cute to see Kyuu-kun stretching, almost acting like a normal fox.

"Okay, first questions first, why did you not want me to see Kakashi-sensei?" He blinks before lowering his head to the ground.

"**Because, I couldn't have blocked out his death**," My eyes snap open wide.

"That's why…"

"**You've never had an incident like that. I've been blocking them, making sure that they don't bother. However, while I've been preparing, I couldn't stop them. That's why I insisted you get out of there. Visual contact is what sets you off, that's the only time I've ever had to suppress memories," **He explains, and I nod my head.

"Thanks, Kyuu-kun that means a lot. Second question, why do we need to be here to turn me into a Hanyou?" I ask, gesturing to the surroundings.

"**Because, all a demon is, is a child of earth. A weird concept, yes, but actually the demons you see on your plane of existence, are only a fraction of all demons. In fact, we are quite peaceful, at least most of us. However, our visage scares humans, so we hide on another plane. Because of this, some demons resent humans, and come to this plane to terrorize humans," **He explains, the information only slightly shocking me.

"What about the Bijuu? Are you demons, or just massive amounts of chakra, like Chiyo said? And why do they and YOU terrorize us?" I ask, slightly glaring at Kyuu-kun.

"**I terrorize you because I am a natural disaster; I must do so to keep balance. As for my brothers as sisters, well, some become mindless beasts on this plane, and they begin attacking people. As for us being massive amounts of chakra, that's all a demon, is. All demons are just masses of chakra that have taken physical form. Enough of this though, we need to get this over quickly. Naruto, could you please turn around?" **I raise an eyebrow, wondering why he would want something like that. However, I do as he asks, and suddenly the shadow cast by him starts to shrink until is the size of a normal human. A normal, female human with a large chest, making me close my eyes. A few minutes later, a soft female voice calls out.

"You can turn around now, Naruto…" I do so, and she's robed in a large, loose fitting ruby kimono, a soft smile splayed on her pale, elegant face, cheek bones high, and her blood red hair contrasting her skin. She's easily six feet in height as well.

"Uh, um…" I'm speechless, before I shake my head, "Wow, Kyuu-ku… Chan, I had no idea…" I stutter, and she giggles.

"I do sound like a guy in demon form, don't I? No, I am a female, and my name is Riku, remember that," _Riku? Earth?_

"Okay, Riku-chan, what's next?" She smiles, when I noticing the nine tails swishing around her form with seemingly minds of their own.

"This is going to be painful Naruto, please forgive me," All of a sudden, one of the tails is wrapping around my shoulders, hoisting me in the air. I'm a little disoriented from the sudden lift, when the other eight tails are hovering before me. I'm about to ask, when each tail, I notice, slips past my skin and into the locations of the eight gates. If feels as if my blood is being replaced with molten lava as I scream, vision blurring as I realize I'm crying. I than somehow take the time to notice that the tail holding me up is disappearing, and chakra is flowing into me from the other tails. I can distantly hear Riku-chan apologizing over and over again, but it barely registers. All I can feel is the lava burning my veins away, and the demonic chakra burning through my tenketsu. Somewhere, very, very deep in the back of my mind I'm wondering why I haven't blacked out yet, when I'm suddenly pulled by the tails, coming face to face with Riku-chan. Her violet eyes catch mine in a gaze as she brings a hand to my check, before scratching it. I flinch a little out of reaction, the pain barely registering against the much stronger one. She places the bloodied fingers in her mouth, tasting my blood, and I wondering why, before she takes the same hand, and cuts it with long, sharp canine teeth, placing it against my lips. She nods her head toward her hand, whispering something about having to partake. It's hard to understand, but I start to suck on the cut on her hand, swallowing her blood as she nods. She pulls her hand away as she lowers me to the ground, and I collapse against her when the tails recede. She hugs me as I see only a blur of colors.

She bends down and kisses my forehead, and whispers.

"Goodnight, Naru-chan…"

* * *

_**Read, Review, or whatever!**_

_**AH, finally, the third chapter, hopefully this means more to come because I'm pretty sure this over a year long wait was quite irritating for most of you!**_

_**NOW! On to very important news. I have poll on my profile now. Now, I know that it is very biased, because you don't know three of the contestants, but a small description is on my page for EACH OF THEM! And I sincerely hope you read each of their arguments before you go and vote for Itachi (As I know most of you probably will without a second thought). If I think it's too biased, I'll probably just choose the one I want. This is just get the opinions, the voting probably closes in like, five chapters. I'm also taking it down to restart, not that I'll hopefully have more people to vote! I'm Back! Please though, don't make an uninformed decision!**_

_**As for the end and the beginning, if it seems a little rushed, sorry. But it's here, isnt' it?  
**_


	4. Author's Note

Author's Note:

I'm sorry to say that... I no longer really have an interest in Nauto fanfiction. I don't know how, or when, but my passion for this fanfiction seems to have... gone from me, and I apologize. I should have posted this AN so long ago. I must say, however, that not all is lost. I'm writing fanfiction again, and it is not without possibility that I may find inspiration to once more write my Naruto fics again.

However, until further notice, I'm putting all of my Naruto stories on hiatus. I'm sorry.


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